By Anna Liz Nichols
Associated Press/ Report for America
LANSING (AP) — A Michigan lawmaker who was arrested in February for driving drunk pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated last week and hopes to be admitted into a sobriety program.
Rep. Mary Cavanagh, 30, was arrested in the early hours of Feb. 25 after driving with two flat tires and veering between lanes, according to the Livonia police report. By the time police took her to jail, the Redford Democrat's blood alcohol content tested at 0.2%, more than double the legal limit of 0.08%.
It was Cavanagh's second time being arrested by Livonia police for drunken driving, the first time being in 2015. That time she pleaded down to a lesser impaired driving charge.
Cavanagh will try to be admitted into sobriety court, which would require her to receive treatment to get sober and would allow her to potentially get her license back with restrictions, including a required car breathalyzer.
Her lawyer, Todd Perkins, told The Associated Press last Thursday that she intends to utilize her time in sobriety court to educate others on the path to recovery.
Most people who go through sobriety court have multiple offenses and they are selected for admission into the program based on the likelihood to succeed with help, Livonia City attorney Paul Bernier told the AP.
Sentencing for Cavanagh is scheduled for May 6, which is when she'll find out if she is admitted into the program.
In a statement on an Instagram story last Thursday, Cavanagh said this experience has been a "wake-up" call for her and that she is going to work hard to regain the trust of those she represents.
"There is absolutely no excuse for my decision that night, and I am extremely grateful that no one was harmed, including myself," Cavanagh wrote.
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Anna Liz Nichols is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Nichols reported from Lansing.
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