Just before the holidays began we started to hear about the proposed bill that would be filed this legislative session. One of those was deferred adjudication for first time DWI offenders. So when I heard that it was being proposed I was more than upset, that those that committed this crime were going to be getting a slap on the hand and that it was not going to be helping anything. I kept thinking to myself what the heck and that we don’t need to go easy on people that drink and drive. What we need is laws that will make people avoid drinking and driving not give them a get out of jail free card.
As I was looking for news stories about DWI to post on our Facebook page I came across a story from Houston. It was a Khou.com that was posted on the 2nd of December the title read:
I watched the video to the story and then really got extremely angry, what the heck is going on in Texas. We’re one of the worst states in dealing with drunk driving and we’re letting people get away with it. The story talked about the DIVERT program (DIVERT stands for Direct Intervention using Voluntary Education Restitution and Treatment.) that it gives 1st time DWI offender the chance to have the DWI cleared of record after they complete treatment and pay fines and stay out of trouble of a set period of time. The judge in the story refused to take part in the program; he stated that it was a form of deferred adjudication, which is not legally allowed by Texas law.
The story goes on to mention that not only the judge was opposed to it but that MADD was against it. So when I heard that the deferred adjudication bill was going to be introduced and that MADD supported it I thought, has the whole world gone mad now? So I started to research deferred adjudication and prepared to oppose it and have the DIVERT program banned.
I wanted to see the bill and knew that Rep Todd Smith had planned to file the bill, looked it up and found that it had been filed in early November and pulled it up and started to review it. One of The first things that caught my attention was that anyone who is placed on deferred adjudication must have an ignition interlock device in their car. The Next thing was, if a person was granted deferred adjudication they could not have it cleared from their record. Finally and thankfully it read that a deferred adjudication for a DWI offense would be considered a conviction if they were charge with another DWI offense. So unlike the DIVERT program the first DWI offense would be on the record as a conviction and could be used to increase the punishment for the second DWI.
After looking over the bill I think that it is a better alternative than what is happening now. The divert program and having prosecutors allow offenders to plea down to obstructing of a public highway ( A Class B Misdemeanor[1]) just to be able to get some kind of punishment for a DWI offender. I 'd like to see a mandatory weekend jail term of 1st time DWI offender’s, maybe that would give those that actually are 1st timers the shock that is needed to keep them from doing it again. All in all what I know is that this fight to bring drunk driving to an end will unfortunately be a tough and drawn out one but one I’m willing to fight.
Edward
[1] Sec. 12.22. CLASS B MISDEMEANOR. An individual adjudged guilty of a Class B misdemeanor shall be punished by:(1) a fine not to exceed $2,000;
(2) confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days; or
(3) Both such fine and confinement.
