Torn Seeks Trial in DWI Case

[phoenix_force]

Rip Torn is itching for a fight.
The Men in Black star, who was busted outside New York City in December and charged with driving while intoxicated, has requested a nonjury trial, a court clerk in North Salem, New York, confirmed Wednesday.
That means that during proceedings in June, a judge will hear arguments and make the final ruling.
According to authorities, Torn, 76, was driving north on Route 22 near North Salem on Dec. 4 when he apparently lost control of his 1995 Chevy Cavalier while making a turn and collided with a tractor-trailer. Luckily, no one was hurt in the crash, which occurred about 2:30 p.m.
The Hollywood vet refused a Breathalyzer test, was taken into custody and booked for DWI and making an unsafe lane change.
After his arrest, a surly Torn declared his innocence.
"It's a bunch of bulls--t. The truck hit me. I didn't do anything," the Westchester County Journal News quoted the actor as saying. The newspaper reported that his eyes were bloodshot and his speech slurred.
At his arraignment later that day, a judge suspended Torn's New York license and he was released into the custody of his attorney without being required to post bond.
Torn initially hired Adam Levy, the son of TV's Judge Judy Scheindlin, to defend him. Levy, who is running for the district attorney post in nearby Putnam County, was part of the team that represented the actor in 2004 when a jury in Manhattan acquitted him of drunken driving. Torn had been charged after crashing his Volvo into a cab in Greenwich Village.
Levy confirmed that Torn has since hired another lawyer to handle the upcoming trial, which is set for June 13 in North Salem Town Court.
Torn's Los Angeles-based publicist, Dick Guttman disputed prosecutors' version of events, saying his client had told him he had not been drinking and was on a hunting or fishing trip when the incident occurred.
"Rip was driving on a road that teed into another intersection and he was in the right lane...The truck came past him just before the intersection, crossed in front of him, crashed into the car and sent him into a ditch," Guttman told E! Online. "That's really all he remembers of it."
Guttman added that Torn was "somewhat groggy" from the experience and, as a result, "the police officer assumed he was drunk."
"The story which was put out was that he lost control and struck the tractor trailer, but where's the tractor trailer?" Guttman continued, noting that the other vehicle had driven off.
A Texas native who currently resides in Connecticut, Torn's acting career has spanned five decades and includes a 1996 Emmy for his role on HBO's Larry Sanders Show. Upcoming flicks include Three Days to Vegas, a comedy costarring Peter Falk; Turn the River, a drama with Famke Janssen; August, a drama with Josh Hartnett; and a voice part in Jerry Seinfeld's computer-animated Bee Movie, which is due out in November.

anyone seen the raving footage of him from 2004?

 

[sinewave]

great mugshot! not nolte-quality, but pretty damn good.

 

[Warhammer]

Damn, Zed.