To the editor:

Your editorial regarding the disposition of Sen. Ed Pugh’s criminal charges (J-W, June 22) indicates that your newspaper agrees with his assessment that he was treated just like everyone else by the legal system. I beg to differ.

Sen. Pugh received a diversion agreement for his recent DUI whereby he avoided a possible conviction that would have resulted in jail time and a suspension of his driver’s license. Talk to a prosecutor about the criteria they look at before granting a diversion agreement pursuant to a DUI. They will tell you they look at the following:

1. Blood alcohol level. Pugh’s level was 0.241 — more than three times the legal limit. A person can get a diversion with a 0.241 level, but they better be a great candidate for diversion in all other aspects.

2. Polite and cooperative with arresting officers? Clearly not. He was ordered by the Topeka city prosecutor to write letters of apology to the officers. Prosecutors rarely grant diversions to applicants who act belligerently when stopped for DUI.

3. Car accident? Senator Pugh was involved in a minor collision. He apparently selected the wrong gear at a downtown Topeka traffic light, thereby backing into a car driven by a teenage girl.

4. Driving record: Sen. Pugh had his driver’s license restricted for 90 days last year for excessive speeding tickets — three tickets within an eight-day period.

It is debatable whether a lawmaker should be held to a higher standard on such an important issue of public policy; he certainly should not be held to a lower one.

Rick Frydman,

Lawrence