This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.This page is about a politician who is running for office or has recently run for office, is in office and campaigning for re-election, or is involved in some current political conflict or controversy. For that reason, this article is at increased risk of biased editing, talk-page trolling, and simple vandalism.If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page.
This article is rated Stub-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Politics, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of politics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.PoliticsWikipedia:WikiProject PoliticsTemplate:WikiProject Politicspolitics articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions.
Latest comment: 6 years ago7 comments3 people in discussion
Given that the only 4 sources I can find are local and only rehashing of one (poorly worded, at best) source I'm very skeptical of adding this in here, particularly in the lead. If we included every local politicians DUI 'record', well, this would likely be DUIpedia, cause let's be honest (and I say this as someone from Baltimore City.) I know jack-all about this guy but I'm very much against giving something such as a DUI charge such heavy weight without proof of a conviction as it gives very undue weight to something that doesn't appear to be relevant. See also WP:BLPCRIME.CHRISSYMAD❯❯❯¯\_(ツ)_/¯01:25, 29 January 2018 (UTC)Reply
It's not in the "lead" any more, this article didn't have a lead. All politicians with DUIs should have them mentioned in their articles if sourcing exists. I doubt much of any sourcing exists for Ferns that isn't "local". This article is too sparse and if more biographical data was added, it wouldn't be undue weight. Stripping valid sourced info is not the answer. – Muboshgu (talk) 01:33, 29 January 2018 (UTC)Reply
(edit conflict)Muboshgu I don't necessarily disagree with you (to a certain extent) and considering it's WV it's rather unlikely it would be covered other than locally but the sources are rehashing one single source, poorly written and sourced and it's about a charge rather than a conviction and for the sake of preserving WP:BLP I'm very much opposed to including a charge that is not relevant to the subject (or widely covered, even locally.) I'll also add All politicians with DUIs should have them mentioned in their articles if sourcing exists. is a bit of a conundrum. While I agree with holding politicians accountable, their BLPs are no different than say, an actor on Wikipedia and to hold them to a different standard in that respect is unfair. But a charge is not the equivalent of *having* a dui on your record.CHRISSYMAD❯❯❯¯\_(ツ)_/¯01:41, 29 January 2018 (UTC)Reply
(edit conflict) Being charged for a DUI doesn't mean anything, Muboshgu. I'm aware of individuals who have been charged a half dozen times and every single one has been dropped. You are innocent until proven guilty in the United States. Unless you can find information that shows he was found guilty, pleaded no contest, or pleaded guilty, the fact of the matter is a charge means nothing. Also, if anything the charge at age 20 is totally irrelevant. He was not a public figure at the time and BLPCRIME applies for that one. The only one that might be relevant is the one in 2012. But again, charged is different from conviction. --Majora (talk) 01:44, 29 January 2018 (UTC)Reply
Certainly charges and convictions are different, but I do think charges are relevant too. What would OJ Simpson's bio look like without mentioning the double homicide charge? There's a whole section at Snoop Dogg#Legal incidents that include charges without convictions. – Muboshgu (talk) 01:45, 29 January 2018 (UTC)Reply
Well since you used ITSLOCAL as a reason to put it back I guess I'm going to have to use OTHERSTUFFEXISTS to rebut that one. Can we at least agree that the charge at 20 is not relevant and falls squarely into the WP:BLPCRIME category? --Majora (talk) 01:49, 29 January 2018 (UTC)Reply
(edit conflict)Sure, in an article where it's relevant. He's not notable for his charges but for his position and the charges aren't even widely reported which not only means it's not completely verifiable but that it's giving very significant undue weight to something that as far as I can tell, he has not been convicted of. As far as OJ goes, we really can't compare the two. OJ was notable for two things, one more than the other and that was the case and less so his NFL career.CHRISSYMAD❯❯❯¯\_(ツ)_/¯01:52, 29 January 2018 (UTC)Reply
