{"id":210779,"date":"2026-03-29T17:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T17:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/210779\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T17:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T17:19:08","slug":"former-state-attorney-warns-tiger-woods-could-face-uphill-battle-in-martin-county-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/210779\/","title":{"rendered":"Former State Attorney warns Tiger Woods could face uphill battle in Martin County"},"content":{"rendered":"

STUART, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The man who prosecuted Tiger Woods\u2019 2017 DUI case says Tiger Woods may face a tougher legal landscape in Martin County.<\/p>\n

CBS News spoke with former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg<\/a>, who prosecuted his 2017 DUI<\/a>, about the shifting legal landscape now that the case is in Martin County.<\/p>\n

Aronberg noted that the change in jurisdiction may not play out in his favor:<\/p>\n

Martin County is known for being extra tough on DUI. You’ve literally got a new sheriff in town, and he may want to prove a point here, but ultimately it’s going to be about the evidence because prosecutors have a much higher burden than law enforcement does. Law enforcement can charge someone based on probable cause, but to convict someone of DUI you need beyond a reasonable doubt. And here the evidence is not so clear that you can get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. <\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon Woods’ Land Rover clipped the back of a pickup truck pulling a pressure cleaner, causing his SUV to roll onto its driver’s side, according to previous reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

See also: Man accused of stealing sensitive computer key at Palm Beach County election training<\/a><\/p>\n

While Sheriff John Budenseik reported that Woods\u2019 breathalyzer test came back clear, the golfer reportedly refused a urine test, leading to a count of suspicion of DUI. Aronberg clarified that while a conviction would lead to a license suspension, it is very unlikely Woods would lose his license permanently, as that typically requires several more offenses.<\/p>\n

“There could also be a plea deal, a negotiated settlement, where you could voluntarily agree to have a license suspension, but I think it’s very unlikely for him to lose his license for good,” said Aronberg.<\/p>\n

Aronberg also pointed out that because Woods is an international celebrity, his actions are under a constant microscope, but his medical status and any prescriptions for sports injuries remain private. He explained that if the case goes to trial, Woods\u2019 past accidents and previous DUI would not be admissible as evidence to prove the current charge.<\/p>\n

However, he suggested that responding officers\u2019 knowledge of Woods\u2019 history may have influenced their initial determination of impairment at the scene.<\/p>\n

Comment with Bubbles<\/p>\n

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Woods currently faces charges of DUI, property damage, and refusal to submit to a lawful test, according to court records. He was released from the Martin County Jail late Friday night, and no injuries were reported from the collision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STUART, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The man who prosecuted Tiger Woods\u2019 2017 DUI case says Tiger Woods may face…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-210779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}