Beverly Hills : Judge Will Go to Trial

Municipal Court Judge Edward L. Davenport, who as a city attorney helped establish procedures for prosecuting drunk-driving suspects, will go to trial on Oct. 7 to face misdemeanor drunk-driving charges resulting from a traffic accident in Beverly Hills.

Davenport, 63, was arrested on May 1 after he was involved in a rear-end collision. He refused to take a field sobriety test and, at the police station, dumped a urine sample into the toilet, according to police reports. Jacob Abajian, Davenport’s attorney, said there is little proof to indicate that his client was drunk.

While setting Davenport’s trial date, Beverly Hills Municipal Court Judge Elden S. Fox told both sides that he would step down if there were any objections to his hearing the case. Fox, a former city attorney, said he had appeared in Davenport’s court on numerous occasions.

The legal basis used by police to force drunk-driving suspects to give blood samples was successfully argued by Davenport before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966 when he was a lawyer in the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.