MADD Faults Courts For Multiple DWI Offenses

In a report released Thursday, October 9, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) stated that judges and prosecutors are endangering the public's lives by showing leniency in sentencing for convicted driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenders. MADD investigated 1,300 cases in order to determine why so many multiple DWI offenders are allowed to get back behind the wheel of a car, even after a pattern of reckless behavior has been established.

Based on their investigation, MADD concluded that, in many cases, convicted DWI offenders are offered plea bargains with reduced sentences. In Albuquerque, New Mexico's Metro Court, MADD offered statistics indicating that 42% of drunk drivers who pleaded guilty ended up being sentenced for lesser charges. In a majority of the cases, the guilty individuals were initially charged with aggravated DWI for driving with extremely high blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) or because they had multiple DWI offenses on their record.

MADD says that judges and prosecutors should eliminate leniency in sentencing and instead stick with the stricter DWI charges in order to keep repeat drunk drivers off of the street. Unfortunately, Bernalillo County DWI prosecutor Gary Cade says that convictions on tougher, DWI charges are not always possible to obtain; based on the large amount of DWI cases filed in the area and the deadlines associated with the filing of such cases. Oftentimes, prosecutors are forced to negotiate a reduced sentence in order to obtain a result before the filing period expires, even if the result is not favorable.

MADD has also found that in McKinley County, New Mexico, 72% of alcohol ignition interlock requirements were waived in court because the judge took the driver at their word when the individual claimed that he or she did not own a car. One of the first recommendations MADD made in their report was for the court to check into the veracity of the claims before deciding whether or not to waive the alcohol ignition interlock device requirement during sentencing.

In order to cut down on the number of individuals with multiple DWI offenses, MADD has also suggested that probation officers or court officers check on convicted drunk drivers to make sure that they do not have access to a vehicle. Another recommendation was for the courts to require DWI offenders who claim to not own a vehicle to wear an alcohol monitoring device, which tests the perspiration collected from the air above the individual's skin for alcohol twice an hour.

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