Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe BEECROFT, Australia, June 22 (UPI) -- A former Australian Supreme Court judge who wrote the guideline judgment for high-range drunken driving struck a plea deal and avoided facing his own rules. Roderick Howie, 61, who is now an acting judge in the Court of Appeal, pleaded guilty to a lesser offense of mid-range drink driving in a May 19 incident, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday. Advertisement The Sydney Morning Herald reported Howie's blood alcohol concentration was measured at 0.168, which is considered high-range, following a head-on collision near his home in Beecroft. Howie told police he had consumed a bottle of red wine earlier in the evening. The Telegraph reported Howie pleaded guilty Wednesday to the reduced charge and could face as long as nine months in prison and a fine $2,340 at his Sept. 21 sentencing. The guideline ruling authored by Howie for high-range drink-driving recommends judges impose harsher penalties on drivers involved in collisions with other vehicles while intoxicated and suggests they not dismiss a drink-driving charge without recording a conviction.
