May 11, 2006

Nassau Judiciary Creates DWI Court

Rice praises judicial leadership as Nassau takes another giant step in fighting drunk driving

MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that effective May 22, Nassau County will have a DWI court to deal with the almost 1,000 open cases in Hempstead’s District Court. The move towards a court designed to deal solely with this epidemic has been a central component of the District Attorney’s multi-pronged approach to a crime that resulted in the deaths of 23 people in Nassau County last year.

“I’m ecstatic that the judiciary here in Nassau County care as much as I do about saving lives on our roads,” said Rice. “I commend Administrative Judge Anthony Marano for his leadership on this issue and I look forward to monitoring the success of this court, as well as the other policies I’ve put in place over the last three months to ensure that our bold steps are truly working.”

In 2005, more than 4,100 people were arrested for drunk driving in Nassau County. Of those 4,100, more than 30% are recidivist offenders.

Rice said the court will be staffed by assistant district attorneys trained specifically to handle DWI cases and that having one judge deciding these cases will lead to more monitoring of the conditions of probation, an increased understanding of the new evidentiary techniques involved in DWI cases, more familiarity with recidivist drunk drivers, and ultimately more efficiency. DWI cases make up more than 25% of the cases prosecuted in District Court and it is thought that this move will not only improve the prosecutions of these crimes, but also speed up the time in which these cases are dealt with, allowing the defendant improved access to any necessary treatment stipulated by the court and the district attorney.

In February Rice overhauled the DWI plea guidelines and put into place jail and treatment conditions designed to be a deterrent and to offer a treatment alternative for those with substance abuse problems.