The DWI Court Is Not Friendly
By Ador Talukdar
The consensus from studies drawn from the arrest data from the DWI court show that about 50% of the offenders are in fact abusers of alcohol; about 35 are social drinkers and the remainder fall in between the two levels.
The large majority of drunk drivers arrested in any given year may not have been arrested before. Of the drunk drivers involved in fatal accident, 13% had a previous DWI conviction in the previous 3 years and 25% had license revocation during the preceding 8 years. The evidence suggests that the chances of drunk drivers being caught are actually very small, and those that do actually get caught may be recycled through the DWI court.
The first drunk-driving laws made it an offense to drive while intoxicated or to drive under the influence (DUI) when a suspect is arrested for drunk driving, he or she is asked to take a Breathalyser test that measures the amount of alcohol in the breath and converts it into the amount of alcohol in the blood. Pursuant to the laws as applied by the DWI court, suspects who refuse to provide the breath sample are penalized by the loss of drivers license and sometimes by other sanctions. It is extremely rare that suspects who fail the breath test obtain an acquittal, despite the many contrary reports. The conviction rate for even first-time drunk driving offenders is well over 90%.
In most states, the DWI court sees the first drunk-driving offense a misdemeanor and a second offense is seen as a felony. Punishments may vary from state; however the usual range of punishment can include forfeiture of a driver license for up to a year, fines of $500 to $1000 and incarceration up 60 days. In the late 1980s, spurred by the anti-drunk driving citizens groups and federal financial incentives, several laws were passed that mandated at least 48hrs incarceration for a first offense and a longer time for subsequent offense.
The criminal justice system's processing of drunk drivers has in many instances been linked to alcohol treatment programs. In many jurisdictions, all offenders are routinely screened for Alcoholism and may be diverted from prosecution to treatment. More likely however, the judge of the DWI court will require the offender to participate in treatment as a condition of probation or in order to obtain a provisional drivers license. In many jurisdictions, the criminal-justice system is the largest source of clients that are directed by into alcohol treatment programs.
The court is responsible for prosecuting the laws of the state, while the enforcement of the laws is often the responsibility of the local police, county sheriffs or highway patrol Apart from the courts, there are several programs that can be used as incentive to discourage repeat drunk driving.
A study of court-mandated treatment programs indicated that solutions may be multifaceted.
Aftercare and court mandated coercion may be both necessary as the combination of imposing sanctions and mandatory alcohol abuse education may work for some people. But for those who continue drinking after treatment, nothing may stop them from Driving under the influence (DUI) except imprisonment and an extensive DUI abuse program.
DWI court is responsible for prosecuting convictions. In some states first offenses are harsh and arrested individuals should never face the DWI court without proper legal representation.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ador_Talukdar
SUMMARY
The consensus from studies drawn from the arrest data from the DWI court show that about 50% of the offenders are in fact abusers of alcohol; about 35 are social drinkers and the remainder fall in between the two levels. The large majority of drunk drivers arrested in any given year may not have been arrested before. Of the drunk drivers involved in fatal accident, 13% had a previous DWI conviction in the previous 3 years and 25% had license revocation during the preceding 8 years.
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