| Tough Year for Drunk Drivers | |
The Year 2000 was generally a tough year for drunk drivers and important one for those who advocate stiff restrictions and greater penalties for those who choose to drink and drive.
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The Dangers The Penalties The War The Victims | ||
At the time of the passage of the law, only 18 states had a .08 blood alcohol content level as the threshold for illegal drunk driving. Most states still had a .10 BAC law.
Under the 2000 Transportation Bill, states would have four years to adopt .08 BAC as their drunk driving standard without incurring penalties. States that do not adopt .08 BAC by 2004 would have their federal highway funds reduced on a graduated scale.
Although some state legislators have vowed to ignore the federally imposed standard, many others were already introducing bills to put the new tougher standard into effect.
Stiffer Sentences
Also during 2000, there were many indications that judges were beginning to hand out stiffer sentences for those convicted of drunk driving. Probably the most widely publicized of these cases was the 60-year sentence handed down in January in a North Carolina DUI trial in which a 30-year-old repeat DUI offender was found guilty of killing four New Jersey teens.The North Carolina case drew national attention due to its CourtTV Coverage. Trial testimony showed that Melissa Marvin downed three shots of booze at one bar and two margarita "grandes" at another, got in her SUV, sped through traffic changing lanes frequently with her left foot up on the dashboard, ran a red light and plowed into a small car carrying five teen-agers, killing four of them.
The case did not end with the trial of Melissa Marvin. The families of the teens killed in the wreck filled lawsuits claiming the bartenders and bars were negligent and reckless because they knew or should have known that Marvin was drunk when she was sold the drinks and would drive a vehicle after being served. The case should go to trial in 2001.
Repercussions
The drunk driving case that caused the most repercussions in the recovery community in 2000 was the vehicular homicide conviction of Audrey Kishline, the founder of the Moderation Management movement.Kishline started Moderation Management in 1993 as an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous and published a book -- "Moderate Drinking: The New Option for Problem Drinkers" -- a year later.
In January, Kishline said the Moderation Management approach of limiting rather than abstaining from alcohol consumption had not worked for her and she planned to pursue an abstinence approach instead.
Two months later, Kishline had a blood-alcohol level of .26, more than three times the legal limit, when she drove the wrong way on Interstate 90 and crashed into Davis' car, killing the 38-year-old man and his daughter. In court she claimed she was in a "black out" and does not remember the incident. In July she was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after she pleaded guilty to the vehicular homicide charges.
Some Setbacks
In another case that drew national attention, the North Carolina Supreme Court in March heard arguments in a landmark case that could have decide if drunken drivers who kill should be eligible for the death penalty.The case stems from a 1997 trial in which a Winston-Salem jury convicted Thomas Richard Jones of first-degree murder for killing two Wake Forest University students and injuring four others. Jurors rejected the death penalty, sentencing Jones to life in prison instead.
The court eventually overturned the murder conviction, but left standing drunk driving conviction and Jones remains in prison. In its unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the felony-murder law could not be used in impaired-driving cases. Allowing such application, the judges explained, could result in capital charges in other cases of criminal negligence that resulted in death.
As the year closed, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that police cannot require defendants in felony drunken-driving cases to take a blood test. It also ruled police cannot obtain a search warrant from a judge to seize blood for alcohol or drug testing.
The decision came from a 1997 case of a woman charged with drunken driving, death resulting, in Warwick, who refused to submit to the test. Police obtained a warrant to force her to comply and found traces of marijuana and cocaine in her system.
Two justices dissented from the majority opinion, saying the ruling scuttles the General Assembly’s intention to rid the highways of drunken-drivers.
DUI Year in Review
11/30/00 - Bars Sued in Melissa Marvin CasePrevious Features
Two bars that served alcohol to a driver in a high-profile drunk driving fatality case are being sued by the families of the four teens who were killed.11/13/00 - DUI - Is Jail the Best Answer?
A long-time supporter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving has suggested to the organization that pushing jail sentences for DUI offenses may not always be the best solution.11/03/00 - Bush Admits 24-Year-Old DUI
A 24-year-old drunk driving conviction has suddenly surfaced the week before election day to apparently discredit candidate George W. Bush.10/09/00 - Congress Forces the .08 Issue
The $58 billion U.S. Transportation Appropriations bill virtually made .08 BAC drunk driving standard the law of the land. Or did it?09/25/00 - Fighting for a .08 BAC Standard
The Department of Transportation Appropriations Bill providing federal .08 BAC sanctions is now being hotly debated by a House-Senate conference committee.08/21/00 - Family to Sue Audrey Kishline
If the founder of Moderation Management decides to write another book, chances are she will never see any profits from it.06/17/00 - New Standard for Impaired Driving
A vote by the U.S. Senate virtually forces all states to adopt a .08 legal intoxication standard for drunk drivers.03/14/00 - Death Penalty for Drunk Drivers?
The North Carolina Supreme Court hears a landmark case that could decide if drunken drivers who kill should be eligible for the death penalty.01/16/00 - 60 Year Sentence!
North Carolina finally took repeat DUI offender Melissa Marvin off the road, but it's a bit too late for four New Jersey teens.
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