Arraignment set for DUI attorney charged with DUI

A Sebring DUI attorney will be arraigned June 15 following his own arrest over the weekend for allegedly driving under the influence.

Steve Dorsey Kackley, 60, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, first offense, and fleeing/eluding a law enforcement officer.

At 1:35 a.m., Saturday, a deputy with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office reportedly clocked a vehicle traveling 75 miles per hour on Payne Road, which has a 45 mph speed limit.

The deputy turned on his lights, but the vehicle continued traveling south. The siren was then switched on, and the cars went another half-mile south before Kackley came to a stop, according to the arrest report.

Kackley was reportedly behind the wheel of the vehicle, and the deputy said he could smell an alcoholic beverage on the man's breath. Kackley said he did not see the lights or hear the siren, and that was the reason he didn't pull over right away.

No alcohol was found inside the vehicle, the report stated. A uniform traffic citation states that the first breath sample taken was .047, and the second was .049.

Sheriff's Deputy Richard Kilborn III made the arrest.

In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court reprimanded Kackley and put him on two years probation with the Florida Bar for swearing at prosecutors and writing a scathing letter to then Highlands County Judge Peter Estrada on an open case, according to a March 20, 2006, Highlands Today report.

Kenneth Marvin, staff counsel for the Florida Bar, said Kackley's probation does not end until July.

The Florida Bar was aware of this most recent arrest and was waiting to see what charges the state attorney's office would file against Kackley before making any disciplinary decisions, Marvin added.

"It would be highly unlikely that a lawyer would be disbarred for two misdemeanors," Marvin said via e-mail. "Either of those charges could be bumped up to a felony and that would be a different story. If he had a prior disciplinary history, that would also subject him to enhanced discipline."

Records from the Highlands County Clerk of Court state that Kackley's DUI charge is a second-degree misdemeanor, while the fleeing/eluding count is a third-degree felony.

"If he is convicted of a felony, there is a presumption of disbarment, which can be overcome," Marvin said.