12 Ways Offered to Cut Dismissals
By Jeff Proctor
Journal Staff Writer
Two years
ago, officials including Gov. Bill Richardson and state Supreme Court
Justice Richard Bosson convened a summit aimed at reducing the
"embarrassing" 33 percent dismissal rate for DWI cases at Metropolitan
Court.
Everyone agreed that an unbiased study was
needed. On Tuesday, Richard Van Duizend, project
consultant for the National Center for State Courts, presented his
findings. Van Duizend said his initial impression of
the way Metro Court does business was "way out of line" with the way most
jurisdictions handle drunken-driving cases.
He said
that, in most courts nationwide, the majority of cases end in a plea deal.
Trials are the next most common disposition, and dismissals are "very
rare."
At Metro Court, dismissals outnumber
trials.
Here are the 12 recommendations the study
makes:
For courts:
Metro Court should provide room inside the courthouse from 8 a.m. to 6
p.m. for witness interviews.
The court should publish lists for cases continued because attorneys
weren't prepared for trial; cases in which the defendant fails to appear;
cases dismissed because a police officer failed to appear for pretrial
interviews or trial.
Metro Court should request the state Supreme Court change the rule
governing pretrial interviews "to bring the court in line with other state
courts' procedures."
Metro Court should establish and enforce strict limits on
continuances.
For law
enforcement:
Law enforcement should emphasize and enforce the importance of showing
up for court appearances.
APD and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office should increase staff
for scheduling officer hearings.
Both agencies should have a liaison officer at Metro
Court.
APD should train or retrain officers to do field sobriety tests so
they don't have to call a DWI Unit officer. Schedules for DWI Unit
officers should reflect pretrial and court appearances, and the department
should increase the DWI Unit "as necessary."
For
prosecutors:
The District Attorney's Office should remind officers about court
dates. Prosecutors should notify police supervisors when an officer
doesn't show up for court.
Prosecutors should encourage defendants who wish to plead guilty to do
so before trial.
For Motor Vehicle Division and the
Albuquerque City Attorney's Office:
Request a legislative change so police reports not officers' physical
presence is all that is required for vehicle forfeiture and license
revocation hearings.
All agencies involved in adjudicating DWIs should share a scheduling
system that allows officials to track cases, determine which officers are
set to appear and when their preferred court days are. Defense attorneys
also should be able to read the program.
