Congressional candidate convicted of DUI

Steven Lamar Foster, who is running as a Democrat for Congress, was convicted of driving under the influence in Whitfield County Superior Court this week.

Foster is challenging incumbent Republican Tom Graves for the 14th congressional district seat, which covers northwest Georgia. After his conviction in court Monday, Foster was booked into the Whitfield County Jail, where he remains. He is scheduled to go before a judge for a sentencing hearing next Monday.

Dalton police arrested Foster on West Walnut Avenue around 2:20 a.m. on Sept. 23 after he failed to turn on his headlights. He scored .103 on a blood alcohol level test — above the legal limit of .08. He also had his blood drawn at Hamilton Medical Center.

Foster originally represented himself in the case, and last month he filed a motion to dismiss the charge. He said a phlebotomist failed to give him an independent blood sample, taking away his opportunity to run an independent test. Judge Cindy Morris declined to throw out the charge.

In a Dalton police report, the arresting officer wrote that Foster did not demand an independent sample. He said Foster demanded an independent chemical test but he would not say what kind of test he wanted done, where he wanted it done or who he wanted to administer the test.

In the last three weeks, Foster hired attorney Richard Murray to represent him in the trial Monday.