Nun Who Drove Into Building Convicted Of Drunk Driving


Uh-oh. Somebody’s been hitting the communion wine.

A Philadelphia school teacher has been convicted in New Jersey of driving under the influence. Her defense was that she had taken a sedative and couldn’t recall driving into a building. But Municipal Court Judge Martin Whitcraft wasn’t buying it and suspended Sister Kimberly Miller’s license for 90 days.

That’s right. She’s a nun.

Sister Miller’s defense team threw out a slew of arguments trying to mitigate the charges. She’d taken an Ambien and drank a glass of altar wine. She has a dissociative disorder. She sleepwalks. None of these points were enough to help the blessed nun beat the rap.

The accident investigation also seemed to contradict Sister Miller’s story. Police contend that she had blood-alcohol level of twice the legal limit. However, that evidence was thrown out by Judge Whitcraft due to a technicality. Still, the state provided enough evidence to prove its case.

Miller’s defense lawyer, Jeffrey Lindy, told reporters after the verdict that his client was very upset. However, it wasn’t the guilty verdict that seemed to have stung Sister Miller.

She’s just very hurt by the judge not believing her. She’s a truth teller.”

Lindy had tried to use a legal strategy often referred to as “the Ambien defense” that’s been argued in courtrooms for more than a decade. The theory is that the popular sedative can induce a dreamlike state with some individuals where their actions are not really under their control.

On the night of the crash, Sister Miller claimed to have attended a book fair where she had “two small glasses of wine” before heading home. She further claims to have lost four hours of her life (during which time the accident happened) after going home, taking the Ambien and some more wine.

Police reports also showed that there was a half empty bottle of wine on the backseat of the car.

No word yet on whether Sister Miller will appeal to another court or a higher power.

Featured image is by Scott Davidson, available under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.

Jeff is reformed conservative who is happy to be thinking for himself again. He's an aspiring author working on his first book. Follow #Brick_Says