Judge dismisses Rep. Bill Beck's DUI case

A judge on Tuesday threw out a drunken driving case against freshman state Rep. Bill Beck on the basis that the police officer did not have reasonable suspicion to pull him over.

Beck was arrested April 17 after the arresting officer said he spotted the Nashville Democrat's pickup truck traveling with two wheels in the turn lane. After the stop, the officer said Beck had bloodshot eyes, a disheveled appearance and slurred speech.

Judge Phillip Maxey, who was brought in from Cheatham County to preside over the case, said dashboard video from the officer's patrol car did not show that Beck was veering, and that a "momentary observation" of the vehicle crossing the line did not rise to the level of reasonable suspicion for making the traffic stop.

"He was driving down the street and he was not completely in his lane," Maxey said. "I can't tell you how many times I've done that sober. I've hit the rumble strip so many times in the last week it's uncountable."

Beck said he was pleased with the ruling.

"I always had my faith in the legal system that it would uphold the law. I knew I was not impaired at the time," Beck said after the trial, adding that he was looking forward to getting back to taking care of his district and constituents.

Prosecutor Nathan McGregor acknowledged before Maxey's ruling that it was a "close call" on whether Beck's driving warranted a traffic stop.

"But I do think the stop was lawful," he told the judge. "After that, I frankly think it's easy for the state. There's tremendous evidence that Mr. Beck was impaired."

At around 1 a.m. on April 17, the arresting officer, Bradley Nave, said he made a U-turn to pull Beck over after noticing his vehicle was outside its lane for at least three seconds. Nave is recorded as telling Beck's wife, who had been called to retrieve his truck, that her husband was "absolutely hammered."

Bryan Lewis, Beck's attorney, questioned whether the video showed what Nave described and suggested that the officer's cruiser was also over the line when he turned to pursue the lawmaker. And he argued that the lawmaker has a speech impediment that was mistaken for slurring, and that his walking was affected by a childhood disability.

Lewis said evidence during the two-hour Tuesday trial included video footage of Beck interacting with another police officer at a gas station 30 minutes before he was pulled over. Lewis said that officer did not suspect Beck was drunk and took no action.

"State Rep. Beck and I are both ecstatic that the justice system worked in this matter, and he is ready to put this behind him and get ready to get back to the job of representing the people of his district," Lewis said.

Beck is a personal injury attorney in Nashville. He is serving his first term in the legislature, representing parts of Davidson County including portions of downtown, Germantown, East Nashville and Old Hickory. He was elected in 2014 and replaced Mike Turner.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 and on Twitter @sbarchenger.