FORT MYERS, Fla. - A senior judge known for doling out stiff penalties was arrested on a drunken driving charge after a traffic accident.

R. Wallace Pack's blood-alcohol content was measured at .179 and .197, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

Pack was booked into Lee County Jail early Saturday morning on a charge of first-offense driving under the influence.

"He bonded out like anyone else," court administration spokesman Ken Kellum said Monday. "The case will be treated like any other case."

If he decides to contest the charge and goes to trial, a judge from outside the county or circuit will be asked to hear the case, Kellum said.

Pack, 75, has served on the bench in Lee County for nearly 33 years. Since reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, he has worked part-time.

Kellum said Circuit Chief Judge Hugh D. Hayes planed to continue assigning Pack to hear civil cases.

"The main thing of concern would be not assigning him to any cases revolving around DUIs - felony or otherwise," he said.

Nicknamed "Max Pack" by defense attorneys in the 1970s and 1980s because of his tendency to mete out stiff punishment, Pack declined to comment on the charge.

Pack explained his views on punishment the Fort Myers News-Press in a May 1980 interview.

"I do believe that every person who commits a wrong should spend some time in jail for punishment - jail or prison," Pack said. "I don't think probation is punishment."

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Information from: News-Press, http://www.news-press.com