DUI court suggested as replacement for suspended program

Thursday, March 9, 2006 | 7:17 a.m.

In an effort to save a Clark County program aimed at cutting the recidivism rate of people driving under the influence, two judges want to create a court to handle DUI cases.

Las Vegas Justices of the Peace Doug Smith and Tony Abbatangelo have asked the Nevada Supreme Court to address whether it would be legal to create a court program to take the place of the heralded Serious Offender Program.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said the program is illegal because it gives repeat DUI offenders reduced charges if they complete an intensive three-year program of treatment and monitoring. He said state law outlaws such deals.

Smith, who said the idea for the court came about after word of Roger's decision spread, said he "understands the district attorney's office doesn't want to be seen as being soft on crime. But I'm a former prosecutor, and from a judicial point of view the program works."

The Sun reported Wednesday that Roger had pulled the plug on the program.

But Smith said the program "keeps our streets safe by giving the people with serious drinking problems help."

Roger, however, said "this is not about whether or not rehabilitation and counseling are good things, it's about whether or not a felony DUI can be reduced to a misdemeanor simply because a person wants counseling."

Roger said the future of the Serious Offender Program, whether in its current form or wrapped into a court lies not in a judge's hand, but in the hands of the state's legislators.

"I enforce the laws," Roger said. "I don't make them. That's up to the Legislature.

"If the Legislature says 'Mr. Prosecutor you will now have the discretion to negotiate felony DUI to misdemeanors or leave it up to a sentencing judge' then so be it. But it's not for me or the judges to decide - it's up to the Legislature."

The question of whether the program is legal hadn't come up before. The program started in 1999 and was cleared by the district attorney's office at the time.

Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn said he'd be happy to help resolve the issue.

"Maybe he (Roger) and I can sit down and craft a law that is fair to law enforcement, my clients and the people of the state," Kohn said. "I'm not talking about creating a law that simply creates an out for people looking to escape accountability, but a law that makes sense for everyone involved."

Kohn said in a state with "some of the most stringent laws on drunken driving we continue to see people driving drunk."

"I've never seen an alcoholic stop drinking and driving simply because they spend some time in prison," Kohn said. "These people have a problem, and the Serious Offender Program or a DUI court works because they combine therapy and counseling with the threat of imprisonment."

The Serious Offender Program gives people charged with a third noninjury DUI a chance to plead guilty and enter an intensive three-year program of counseling and monitoring. If they succeed, the third DUI is removed. If they fail, they face a prison sentence of up to six years.

Court statistics show that 218 people have completed the program and there has been a 9 percent recidivism rate.

Smith said because the offenders enrolled in the program cover all the costs, a DUI court "wouldn't cost the taxpayers a dollar."

The DUI court concept, Smith said, has been well received by Sandy Heverly, the head of STOP DUI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to stop driving under the influence, who was a participant in the creation of the Serious Offender Program.

Steve Grierson, specialty courts manager for Clark County, said a DUI court would be similar to Clark County's drug and mental health courts.

DUI courts and combined drug/DUI courts are currently being used in several states including California, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, Georgia, Indiana and Michigan.