By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Tenino Municipal Court Judge John Lyman was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on Saturday night, the second time since 2010.
Lyman, 68, of Olympia, appeared intoxicated after he wrecked his vehicle about 10 p.m. on the 3300 block of Yelm Highway, east of Olympia, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
“He spun out across a sidewalk into a ditch,” detective Sgt. Greg Elwin said. He was not injured, Elwin said.
Tenino City Hall and court are closed on Mondays, but Police Chief John Hutchings said this morning he believes Lyman may have retired during the past month.
Lyman has been handling all manner of cases, including DUIs, there, Hutchings said. Elwin said Lyman retired from Tumwater Municipal Court last month.
The Olympian reported in January 2011 the judge received a deferred prosecution for five years following a September 2010 DUI incident in which he was accused of striking a parked car at the Tumwater Valley Golf Club, leaving the scene and then crashing into a vehicle at a stoplight on Yelm Highway.
Elwin said a sheriff’s deputy took Lyman to the jail on Saturday night where he was processed and gave breath samples that registered .136 and .141. He was released without being booked, Elwin said.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I think it would be wise to get an outside investigator to evaluate the judge’s previos court findings.
It seems to me that his judgement would have been severely impaired, even if he “appeared” fuctional.
Just another Lewis County corruption case. The most outspoken people about law and order are the worst criminal and drug abusers in society.
April 6, 2013 10:06 pm
My wife and I were driving home on Yelm hwy and seen a vehicle over a bank with the lights on and the driver trying to get his rig unstuck. I went down the bank and observed a man coming out of the drivers side of a 2000 GMC Yukon and was stumbling around. I recognized him as John Lyman former judge of Tumwater. He also confirmed who he was. I helped him up the bank as my wife was on the phone with 911. Mr. Lyman was not injured by the accident be he did stagger a lot and had trouble talking and walking. It was easy to tell he had been drinking. There appeared to be several hundred dollars in damage to a chain link fence and a drainage system.
Lacey Fire Department and Thurston County Sheriff arrived on the scene and examined Mr. Lyman.
I could not find any record of Mr. Lyman in any local jails but I was called later by TCSO asking questions about the accident.
Mr. Lyman is still on probation for DUI and two counts of hit and run.
Don’t forget lawmakers and wives/girlfriends of Chehalis cops, Steve.
WOW anyone else would have been in jail until court regardless of what day that was on or had to have been bailed out and im sure he could have afforded the bail…and if they worried about his safety they could kept him seperate from the other prisoners like they do for others this is total crap just cause he is a judge….second drunk driving offense resulting in car crashes and that is way over the legal limit and his deffered is for 5years and it hasn’t even been 3 what the heck??? trust me sitting here i have much bigger and more words but cant use them here….had that been anyone else and the jury would already be out and back in with sentencing…oh but wait i guess we would need the judge for that so better not throw away the key…NO WONDER NOBODY TRUST THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE WORLD WE LIVE IN TODAY THANK YOU FOR PROVING WHY!!!!
There are two kinds of law in this country: one for judges and rich people, and another for the rest of us peasants.
I guess that’s why there is that expression “sober as a judge”:)
The legal profession as well as the medical profession and airline pilots have some of the highest rates of alcoholism.
And my mother was a deputy sheriff who used to throw some great parties at the house when I was a kid, so I know those guys can hit it pretty hard also:)
Sorry about the spelling folks in my last post. The topic touched a nerve in me and I was typing furiously. Next time I will check my spelling.
Jeff,
right on. 28 people were killed in Sandy hook in sneseless violence. That many peope die every day across the country in drunk driving collisions. A state legislator is proposing changing the laws from 5th DUI to a felony to your third. Really if I was drunk in the stree firing a gun randomly would I get four chances before I faced a felony? Now just because I choose to drink and operate a 25oo machine I get four chances before it is a felony? The recent fatalities up north show how a second DUI can be just as deadly as a fifth.
I also believe that people in positions of power, judges, elected officials, police, etc are held to a higher standard. If they don’t like ti then do not go for those positions. A judge who is twice arrested for DUI needs to step down as a person who passes sentence on others who drive drunk!
Now this just has to present a dilemma for a couple of the regular posters to this page. Do they attack the judge for being part of the hypocritical justice system? Or do the attack the police for harassing a poor innocent driver? I imagine they are just wandering around the kitchen with a headache trying to figure out what to do.
To the topic at hand, why is everyone so caught up with the gun issue right now when we are killing so few with guns compared with the number killed by drunk drivers? Why does virtually every first time DUI result in a deferred sentence? Sandy Hook was a terrible tragedy but how many days does it take to kill that many people in drunk driver accidents? Not very many. But everybody can make a mistake right? Regardless of all of the anti drunk driving groups, the truth is that drunk driving is still basically socially acceptable in this country.