Stiffer DUI laws sought after Morse conviction

Friday, March 9, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

One of the state's leading advocates for tougher drunken driving laws says the Clark Morse case screams out for the system to get tougher with first-time offenders and certainly not wait to take serious action when they become 17-time offenders.

"This conviction sends a message to the system that we need to improve the way we handle these crimes -- that we must intercede early on to prevent this kind of tragedy," said Sandy Heverly, director of Stop DUI and a longtime local activist against drinking and driving.

"This man had 16 arrests on drunken driving charges and only about four convictions and spent little time behind bars prior to this accident. The system failed through his history. It took the death of one person and the injuries of six others -- not to mention the impact on their families -- to get people screaming about this."

On Thursday a jury of eight women and four men convicted Morse of all felony counts in the drunken-driving accident last year that left $35 million Megabucks slot jackpot winner Cynthia Jay-Brennan paralyzed and killed her sister, Lela Ann Jay.

Morse, 57, faces a maximum of about 166 years in prison when he comes before District Judge Valorie Vega for sentencing at 9 a.m. on April 20.

Before the March 11, 2000, accident, Morse had been arrested at least 16 times for alcohol and driving-related offenses but had escaped serious consequences for his actions. He even went through a court-run program designed to help multiple DUI offenders overcome their need to drink and drive.

"With him, it didn't work," Heverly said, noting that the program is a step in the right direction to educate multiple offenders. Her beef, however, is that if sterner measures are taken the first time, people will think twice about committing a second offense.

"Even for a first-time misdemeanor DUI, there needs to be mandatory assessment and mandatory treatment and appropriate fines to discourage people from becoming repeat DUI offenders," Heverly said.

Attorney John Moran, who defended Morse, said his client is misunderstood.

"The prosecutors prosecuted a mentally challenged man and the jury convicted a mentally challenged man, and now we can only hope that the court, which is fair, will take note of that," Moran said.

"I took this case when the (Morse) family came to me because I saw it as an opportunity to make sure that a mentally challenged man like Clark Morse would have every opportunity to avail himself of the judicial system. There are issues for appeal, but right now we are concentrating on the sentencing."

Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker, speaking with a family member of one of the victims outside the courtroom, spoke volumes about Morse's potential future automotive adventures, in one sentence: "He won't be pulling that stunt again."

The jury found Morse guilty of involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence resulting in death, and driving with 0.10 or more blood-alcohol level at the time of the death of 45-year-old Jay, who was a passenger in Jay-Brennan's Camaro that was rear-ended as it waited at a red traffic light on Boulder Highway.

The jury also found Morse guilty of driving under the influence with substantial bodily harm in the crippling injuries of Jay-Brennan, 38, as well as driving with more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

The jury found Morse guilty of reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. Vega, however, dismissed the charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving as being repetitive.

Outside the courtroom, District Attorney Stewart Bell explained to reporters that by finding Morse guilty of felony DUI, that covers all of the penalties that could be dealt for the lesser felony charges that were dismissed.

The jury was offered a number of charges, allowing them to convict Morse of involuntary manslaughter or reckless driving if they felt the evidence supported those crimes but did not rise to the level of driving under the influence leading to serious bodily injury or death.

The jury, which deliberated about 12 hours over three days, also found Morse guilty of leaving the scene of an accident involving Nita Reinhard, Bill Miller, Jeffrey Casale, Willie Harden and Joseph Barton -- who were in three other cars in the pile-up and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The jury also found Morse guilty of driving on a revoked license.

Morse, who went to two bars before the collision, was found asleep at his mother's house -- it also was his residence -- after the accident. Blood tests three hours after the accident found Morse had blood alcohol levels of 0.18 and 0.15. The legal limit is 0.10 in Nevada.

Heverly has advocated the legal level be reduced to 0.08, but the resort industry, tavern owners and other strong tourism-related lobbies have successfully thwarted those efforts before the Nevada Legislature.