Judge dismisses drunken driving charge against Pa. lawmaker

A judge on Tuesday dismissed evidence supporting a drunken-driving charge filed against a Philadelphia state legislator.

Municipal Court Judge Charles Hayden granted a motion filed by Rep. Cherelle L. Parker's lawyer to suppress the evidence "based on creditability" of police testimony, court records show.

"He didn't believe the officers," said her attorney, Joseph Kelly.

The prosecutor, state Deputy Attorney General E. Marc Costanzo, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. District Attorney Seth Williams asked the state to take over the case because he is friends with Parker, 39.

Parker was stopped by Officers Israel Miranda Jr. and Stephanie Allen shortly after midnight on April 30 after they alleged to have seen her drive the wrong way on Haines Street in the city's Germantown section.

Hayden ruled strictly based on the testimony of the officers.

Parker has insisted that she was not driving the wrong way on Haines and that she had one chocolate martini that night. Kelly argued that the officers made up the wrong-way allegation as an excuse to stop her.

"She feels vindicated," Kelly said.

The case will be dropped unless the prosecution files an appeal within 30 days.

Parker allegedly had a 0.16 blood-alcohol level based on a Breathalyzer test, but that was not entered into evidence by the state, Kelly said.

In May, Williams ordered a review of drunken-driving convictions of cases between September 2009 and November 2010 based on faulty Breathalyzer calibrations discovered by the Philadelphia Police Department.

Parker, former aide to City Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco, was first elected to the House in a special election in 2005. She represents the 200th District, which includes Mount Airy, Chestnut Hill, Roxborough, and Andorra.