Monthly Archives: October 2012

Texas Program Uses Sober Court to Reform DWI Offenders

Posted on by

A new program aimed to treat hardcore drunk driving offenders makes an attempt to prevent repeat offenses by simply keeping them sober.Harris County, Texas is intensifying the SOBER Court program, and is funding overtime for 14 deputies to participate using seized assets from criminals. The program involves random, surprise home inspections, in which a deputy will perform breath tests on defendants and inspect for non-compliance with the program, which requires no possession of alcohol or illegal drugs. Offenders must also meet with a DWI judge twice a month and use an alcohol-monitoring device 3-4 times a day from work, home, or their vehicle.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia addressed new graduates of the SOBER Court program, he said, “I will do anything in my power to get Harris County, Texas off the top of the list of DWI-related traffic fatalities in the country.”

In 2009, Harris County had the highest rate of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the country among the nation’s most populous counties.

“We don’t want you before these judges being tried for involuntary manslaughter,” Garcia said. “If you think my deputies or any of these judges are playing, try us. We’ll hold jail space for those of you not listening. We’re going to be extremely serious about your success.”

Breath Tests to Resume in DC

Posted on by
D.C. is resuming breath testingfor suspected drunk drivers, ending a 19-month suspension of the program. In 2010, the District admitted that nearly 400 people were convicted with drunk driving based on inaccurate results from breath machines. Half of those convicted went to jail.$20,000 was paid to four people who challenged their cases in May. D.C. claimed to have reached deals in order to save time and continued litigation. Nearly 30 people filed lawsuits against the District who were charged with DWI.While the suspension of breath testing was on hiatus, the city continued to use field sobriety tests and urine screens for evidence of drivers’ intoxication levels, allowing the police to arrest hundreds of drivers.

The Breath Alcohol Testing Program will now require a trained Metropolitan Police Department operator to administer the tests. Mayor Vince Gray said that a grant for $150,000 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration helped reinstate the program.

The chief medical examiner’s office is now in charge of ensuring that the breath machines are working accurately through calibration and auditing.

The Comprehensive Impaired Driving Act of 2012 began Aug. 1, and under the law tougher penalties are imposed on first-time offenders, and more severe penalties are being given to repeat offenders.

MADD in DC for National Conference

Posted on by
MADD ConferenceThe non-profit organization MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is in Washington D.C. for their National Conference this week. Over 300 drunk driving crash victims, survivors, volunteers and supporters are taking part in legislative meetings in an attempt to convince Congress to act on two issues:

  • Full funding for priority highway safety programs
  • Passage of a Constitutional Amendment providing for crime victims’ right

MADD is urging Congress to include the full $265 million in annual funding to implement the new federal surface transportation legislation known as MAP-21, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. MADD believes full-funding of this program is imperative to drunk driving prevention, occupant protection, distracted driving protection, motorcycle safety, improved graduate driver’s license laws and data collection, all which is needed to save lives and prevent injuries on the road by drunk drivers.

The organization is concerned that inaction of fully funding the program will force states to make even more difficult choices regarding exactly how to fund long-term traffic safety projects. MADD National President Jan Withers said, “The lack of funding for key highway safety programs is not only problematic for states’ budgets, but the American people will end up paying a much higher price through deaths and injuries. Efforts aimed at impaired driving prevention, along with other safety measures for teen drivers, vehicle passengers, and motorcycle riders should not be an afterthought.”

MADD would like Congress to also pass a Constitutional amendment to protect crime victims’ rights, which are currently only protected by statutes in the state.

DUI Hotel for Eligible Drunk Driving Offenders

Posted on by
DUI HotelAn Allegheny County program allows drunk drivers to serve mandatory jail time in a hotel if they meet certain requirements. Known to some as “DUI Hotel“, the DUI Alternative Jail Program is essentially a 3-day, 3-night program held at two participating hotels, and costs about $500. It is for people who have a prior conviction and then get arrested for DUI, and who are ineligible for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition.In the program, participants are required to attend evaluations and alcohol-education programs and treatment sessions. Tom McCaffrey is the director of adult probation in Allegheny County and supports the program. He said, “The program goes Thursday through Sunday. The entire program is designed that they are busy the whole time. They complete alcohol evaluations, they do their mandatory DUI school mandated by PennDOT and they do their treatment that they have to do. I think it’s going to be a good thing for the court, I think it will be a good thing for the jail, and it will be a good thing for the taxpayers.”

DUI Hotel can replace the system of using electronic monitoring bracelets, which county officials report costs $2 million a year in taxpayer dollars. However, not everyone is behind the program. George Saurman is a former seven-term state representative from Montgomery County who said, “The whole idea of sentencing people to jail is for safety — for their own safety and for other people’s safety. For anyone to have the idea that now that they’ve been caught, they can serve out their time in a hotel, rather than having the punishment imposed, is absolutely insane. I can’t see any motivation or justification for modifying the penalty. It’s inexcusable, as far as I’m concerned.”

The program was adopted in 2010, and Allegheny was the first county in Pennsylvania to use it. Now Westmoreland County officials are considering it too.

Anna Duerr, a spokeswoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), said that the program would not act as a deterrent to driving while intoxicated. “There is no science to show that sentencing convicted drunk drivers to serve time in a hotel helps to stop repeat offenses,” she said.

Colorado Lawmakers Revisiting Bill for Marijuana DUI Standard

Posted on by
Colorado lawmakers will revisit a bill calling for a marijuana DUI standard for a fourth time in January 2013. A marijuana DUI standard would establish a blood-level limit for drivers, meaning motorists could be charged with driving under the influence if their blood contains a certain level of THC. This bill is being sponsored again by Mesa County Republican Senator Keith King, and the bill proposes that the limit should be 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood.This bill was rejected in May when lawmakers could not agree on how to properly measure a motorist’s intoxication by marijuana and what was deemed as too impaired to drive. Nevada and Ohio have a 2 nanogram of THC ng/mL limit and Pennsylvania has a 1-nanogram limit. A motorist can be charged with drugged-driving in Colorado but the evidence is based on law enforcement’s observations.

Opponents of the marijuana DUI standard have doubts that impairment by marijuana and impairment by alcohol can by measured similarly. It is understood that the effects of cannabis on psycho-motor abilities is correlated to dosage, however lawmakers cannot agree on how to appropriately measure impairment due to issues relating to residual neuropyschological effects.

Colorado is one of 16 states that allows medical use of marijuana, and on November 6, 2012, Colorado Amendment 64 will be on the ballots, which is an amendment to Article 18 of the state constitution that would allow for a progressive marijuana drug policy. Essentially, personal use and regulation of marijuana would be allowed for adults over the age of 21 if Amendment 64 is passed.

Opponents of the THC-limit worry that medical marijuana users may be wrongly accused if the bill is passed. “We risk convicting people of an impaired infraction when they’re not actually impaired,” said Michael Elliott, executive director of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group. Another possible concern could be detection of cannabinoids even if one is not an active user of marijuana. In the Journal of Forensic Science, a study by Morland et al. (1985) shows that passive inhalation of cannabis smoke can be detected in blood and urine, with THC concentrations being detected as high as 6.3 ng/mL.

These are issues that must be confronted by lawmakers especially in a state that allows for medical use and may be on its way to legalization of marijuana.