A second Indianapolis Colts player finds himself in legal trouble. Linebacker Andrew Jackson was arrested for DUI over the weekend. This is his second arrest for DUI in less than a year.
Jackson accepted a deferred prosecution in the first DUI case. He agreed not to violate any new laws and complete a drug and alcohol program and community service hours in exchange for dismissal of all charges after one year. About a month after accepting this agreement, Jackson was back in court because he had not participated in the drug and alcohol program. The judge reinstated his deferred prosecution, giving Jackson a second chance.
Jackson was pulled over for swerving and had a BAC of .088, just over the legal limit. He pled guilty the day after the arrest. Jackson was ordered to do 14 days of in home detention.
At this point, it is unknown how the new DUI will impact Jackson’s deferred prosecution, but it may result in revocation of the deferred prosecution.
Jackson’s situation would have been very different had he been in Colorado. In Colorado, in the major metropolitan jurisdictions, it is very rare for the prosecution to offer a deferred judgment in a DUI case. It is even more rare to hear of a deferred prosecution. The difference between a deferred prosecution and a deferred judgment is that a deferred judgment requires an initial guilty plea to a charge. If the person successfully completes probation, then the guilty plea is withdrawn and the case is dismissed. A deferred prosecution typically does not require a guilty plea. The case is just held open while the person completes the requirements of the deferred.
Not only would Jackson likely not have been offered a deferred prosecution in Colorado, but even if he had, he likely would not gave received an in home detention sentence. In Colorado, if you have 2 DUI’s or DWAI’s within a 5 year timeframe, the judge must impose at least a 10 day jail sentence and it must be jail. It cannot be in home detention.
Source: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2015/01/24/colts-andrew-jackson-arrested-kentucky/22271125/