Judges may regain sentencing power in DWI cases

By KEVIN McGILL
The Associated Press
5/5/2004,

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In a battle pitting the state's prosecutors against defense lawyers, a House panel advanced a Senate-passed bill giving judges more power to impose long sentences on third- and fourth-offense drunk drivers.

A 2001 law forces judges to suspend all but a small part of the sentence for such multiple offenders.

In the years since it was passed, criticism has mounted from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the state District Attorneys Association.

Backers of that existing law pointed out that it imposed mandatory treatment instead of jail time. They said 64 percent of the 1,458 people sentenced to treatment since it took effect remained sober for a year or more. They add that home incarceration after treatment is also part of the sentence, and that anyone who strays from the required treatment winds up in prison.

Kevin Monaghan, a criminal defense lawyer, said judges are under too much political and public pressure to impose a stiff sentence when treatment is a viable option.

"I've never seen MADD go in there and say, `Oh, let's give that person supervision,'" he said.

Pete Adams, lobbyist for the district attorneys, was joined by prosecutors including former state Rep. Charles Riddle, D-Marksville, now a district attorney. They said treatment is often a viable option, but it should be up to the judge to decide. He said there are cases in which a driver on trial for a third or fourth offense sometimes has a criminal record that warrants a tougher sentence.

"These people are very bad actors who'll get the benefit of the state's largesse when they do not deserve it and are not good candidates for it," he said.

The 2001 law technically kept the old one-to-five-year jail sentence for third-offenders and 10-to-30 years for fourth-offenders. However, it forced a judge to suspend most of the sentence — all but 30 days for the third offense and all but 60 days for the fourth — and force the offender into a treatment program.

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