A Yakima attorney who also contracts as a municipal court prosecutor in Sunnyside and judge in Wapato and Granger municipal courts has been charged with driving under the influence.

Kathleen Morehouse, 47, was charged in Yakima District Court for her DUI arrest on July 24, which The Yakima Herald Republic reports occurred after a Washington State Patrol trooper pulled her over for speeding around 8 a.m. along Interstate 82 between Zillah and Granger and smelled alcohol from inside the car.

Morehouse told the officer she had drinks the night before and took a narcotic painkiller earlier that morning, but her two breath screens put her blood-alcohol content at .253 and .248, more than three times the legal limit of .08.

Morehouse uses her maiden name Hitchcock professionally and faces a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine for the gross misdemeanor if convicted.

Morehouse is currently suspended from the prosecutor job.

More From News Talk KIT