Attorney Anne Bremner charged with DUI

High-profile attorney Anne Bremner was charged Wednesday with one count of driving under the influence, according to court documents.

The charge was filed in King County District Court in Shoreline. Bremner is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:45 a.m. on Sept. 1.

"I am pleased that the case is no longer in limbo," Bremner said in a statement released through Mark Firmani, her friend and public-relations adviser. "This has been a very difficult time for me, and I am very grateful for the support my friends, family and colleagues have shown me."

Firmani said Bremner would not be commenting further on the case at this time.

Bremner was pulled over June 4 after a sheriff's deputy spotted her driving her BMW with a flattened tire in Kenmore, according to the Sheriff's Office. Once stopped, Bremner showed signs of impairment, the Sheriff's Office said.

She was booked into King County Jail just after 2 a.m. — her 52nd birthday — and was released less than five hours later, jail records show.

In an interview earlier this month, Bremner said she had drinks with dinner on the night of June 3, but was not drunk when she was pulled over by the deputy. Instead, she says she was the victim of a hit-and-run accident before her arrest and suffered a brain injury, resulting in behavior that mimicked the signs of alcohol impairment.

But in court documents, the Sheriff's Office said Bremner didn't report being in an accident or request medical attention at the time of her arrest.

"This is a straightforward DUI from our standpoint," sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart has said.

Bremner had asked a King County judge to bar release of the deputy's report on her arrest to news reporters to avoid negative publicity that could damage her reputation as a legal expert. A judge last week ruled that a redacted copy of the report could be released, but Bremner's attorney, Tyler Firkins, filed for a 14-day stay of the ruling so the decision could be appealed.

The probable-cause documents laying out the alleged evidence against Bremner would ordinarily become available at the time the charge was filed, but they remain under seal because of the stay, Urquhart said.

Sarah Roberts, the prosecutor for the city of Kenmore, declined last week to say why it has taken more than two months to review the case and make a decision on whether to file charges. She did not return a call for comment Wednesday.

If convicted as charged, Bremner could face a minimum of one day in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. Her driver's license also could be suspended for at least 90 days, and she could be ordered to install an ignition-interlock device on her vehicle.

As a first-time offender, state law says, Bremner alternatively could choose to plead guilty and accept a deferred prosecution, which would allow her to have the offense removed from her record if she complied with conditions, which would likely include treatment for substance abuse.

Bremner is a well-known defense attorney who has often appeared on cable and national television programs to offer legal analysis. According to her website, she covered the Michael Jackson child-molestation trial in 2005 for CNN and has appeared on TruTV, "Good Morning America" and Fox News. Over the course of her 26-year career, she has represented numerous police agencies, officers and deputies.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report.