DWI CHARGE REDUCTION STUDY. VOLUME II: SYSTEM DESCRIPTIONS

This study responds to the problem of charge reduction in drunk-driving cases. The term "charge reduction" refers to plea bargaining which allows defendants charged with drunk driving to plead guilty to lesser, non-alcohol related charges, and to prosecutor- or judge-sponsored programs under which a drunk driving defendant "earns" a reduced or dismissed charge, even though the evidence justifies a drunk driving conviction. Volume I contains a summary of the study and presents a strategy for implementing a charge-reduction ban. Section 1.0 provides an introduction to the study. Section 2.0 presents background information on the problem of charge reduction. Section 3.0 details the study method for this project. Section 4.0 presents the major findings of the study. The first part of this section focuses on findings relating to project design and execution. The second part sets out the substantive findings of the study. Section 4.0 also deals with limitations of the quantitative data and the methodological problems of measuring the impact of the no-charge reduction policies. Section 5.0, the final section, contains a guide for eliminating charge reduction in jurisdictions other than the study sites. Volume I also contains three appendices. Appendix A contains a list of individuals who were contacted in connection with selecting sites for this study. Appendix B lists the sites that Mid-America recommended during the intermediate phases of site selection for this project. Appendix C contains the discussion guide used by Mid-America staff during its five site visits. Volume II contains in-depth descriptions prepared for each of the five sites visited during this project. Each system description presents background information on the jurisdiction, summarizes key provisions of its alcohol and highway safety legislation, describes the process by which charge reduction was eliminated or restricted, details the processing of drunk drivers, and concludes with a series of observations about the effects of eliminating charge reduction in that jurisdiction.

• Corporate Authors:

  Mid America Research Institute Incorporated

  77 South Bedford Street, Suite 410
  Burlington, MA  United States  01803

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1986-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 79 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Drunk driving; Guides to information; Impacts; Implementation; Judicial processes; Legal factors
• Old TRIS Terms: Charge reduction, legal; Guides; No-charge reduction policy; Plea bargaining
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I10: Economics and Administration; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00491277
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: GPO 491-810/20811, HS-806 992
• Contract Numbers: DTNH22-84-R-05087
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 1990 12:00AM