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Lawyer In State Attorney's Office Faces 2nd DUI Charge

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By RICH SHOPES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 7, 2008

TAMPA - TAMPA - A lawyer at the state attorney's office in Clearwater has been charged with driving under the influence for a second time.

Lydia Dempsey Wardell, 40, was charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident after being stopped about 5:30 p.m. Saturday for speeding on Channelside Drive near Franklin Street, police said.

She was released Sunday from Orient Road Jail after posting $750 bail.

In November 2004, Wardell was stopped after heading the wrong way on Bayshore Boulevard with two of her children in the car, authorities said. Her blood-alcohol level was nearly three times 0.08, the level at which Florida law presumes a driver is intoxicated, police said.

Wardell received 18 months' probation and was found not guilty of culpable negligence related to having children in the car at the time.

In the latest arrest, police said Wardell drove off in a Ford Explorer after the vehicle struck the bumper of a 2000 Mercedes in a parking lot at Old Hyde Park Village.

A witness gave police a description of Wardell's vehicle and license plate number. She was pulled over a short time later. According to the arrest report, the damage on Wardell's SUV matched that of the Mercedes.

Wardell refused blood-alcohol testing, according to her booking report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

If convicted, Wardell could receive a tougher sentence than she faced in February 2005, when she was last convicted. Florida law dictates a mandatory sentence of 10 days in jail if convicted of DUI a second time within five years.

At the time of her first arrest, Wardell supervised her office's drunken-driving division. Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe removed her from that post and transferred her to consumer fraud.

Wardell has been on unpaid leave from the state attorney's office for several months, McCabe said Sunday. He declined to elaborate. As of June 26, the Florida Bar Association listed Wardell as a member in good standing.

McCabe said the incident is "very unfortunate."

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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