Daughter of Supreme Court justice pleads guilty to DUI

By Art Barnum
Tribune staff reporter

May 30, 2007, 3:27 PM CDT

A daughter of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia pleaded guilty today to drunken driving in Wheaton in February.

Ann S. Banaszewski, 45, a Wheaton mother of five, had three of her children in her 1996 Ford van when she was stopped on the evening of Feb. 12 in van near Gamon Road and Longfellow Drive after a citizen reported a possible drunken driver.

Today, Banaszewski accepted a plea agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced by DuPage County Judge Daniel Guerin to 18 months of court supervision. She also was ordered to perform 140 hours of public service (of which 40 hours must be beneficial to children), attend counseling and treatment sessions, attend a victim impact panel, and pay $1,500 in fines and fees.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors dropped four other charges, including endangering the life of a child, failure to secure a child younger than age 8 in a child-restraint system, improper lane usage and driving an uninsured motor vehicle.

Banaszewski declined to take a Breathalyzer test that day, and under state law she lost her driving privileges for a six-month period beginning March 30.

Guerin told Banaszewski that she would be allowed to drive to counseling and treatment sessions, but ordered her to abstain from all alcohol during her period of supervision, and ordered that no children younger than 18 are allowed in a car she drives until she regains full driving privileges.

Her defense attorney, Donald Ramsell, said the ruling was a fair agreement between both sides.

There was no videotape of the arrest, but Banaszewski was shown later on tape being interviewed at the Wheaton Police Department. Police approved the drunken driving charge after she took a field sobriety test.

Banaszewski had a clean driving record in Illinois prior to the February arrest.