Local Judge Charged with DUI

It was right before the Marion exit in Smyth County where a Virginia State trooper spotted Juvenile court judge Michael Keith Blankenship driving erratically and pulled him over Saturday night.
According to an arrest warrant filed in Smyth County General District Court, the trooper “detected an odor of alcohol coming from his (Blankenship’s) vehicle”. When the trooper asked Blankenship if he’d been drinking, his response was he had about three hours earlier. The trooper says Blankenship argued with him for several minutes refusing to get out of the car and said he was judge and “was not going to do any tests”
Soon after he was arrested and charged with DUI and refusal to take a breath test, Blankenship will now have to go before his own judge in April.
But his ties within the legal community are causing the court to switch a few things around. In a court order signed Wednesday, Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Roy Evans Jr. has been excused of his duty to prosecute the case. It will now be handled by Christopher Russell, Commonwealth’s Attorney of Buena Vista. Evans says there’s conflict of interest because he and Blankenship were friends and used to work together, as special judge may also have to be appointed to the case.
As for whether Blankenship will be allowed to continue his duties as a judge, several legal experts say yes, because he has not been convicted. If he is convicted, it’s then up to the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission to decide what happens.