Miami-Dade unveils DUI diversion program for first-time offenders
Participants will get a reduced reckless-driving charge if they complete classes and alcohol monitoring.

By DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@miamiherald.com

Some first-time drunk drivers will get their charges reduced if they complete alcohol education classes, seek treatment and pay fines under a new program being offered by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office.
The “Back on Track” program, which is being rolled out in the next few weeks, is already meeting resistance from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, along with some DUI defense lawyers and police officers.
Prosecutors say the program was created because far too many drunk drivers escape with no penalty when their cases fall apart before trial. Usually, that means police officers or other witnesses not showing up for trial.
“Letting offenders escape with no punishment due to a failure of witnesses to participate in the legal process is absolutely the worst message anyone could send,” said Ed Griffith, a state attorney’s spokesman. “We’re sending the message that everyone should be held accountable.”
Janet Mondshein, executive director of Miami’s MADD, said the program is not strict enough. The organization believes all DUIs should be prosecuted criminally.
“If everyone feels like they’re going to get a slap on the wrist, what’s to stop them from drinking and driving?” she said.
The program works this way: Defendants charged with driving under the influence are eligible only if their arrest did not involve an auto wreck or another crime, and if there are no children in the vehicle during the arrest.
The defendant must also have had a valid driver’s license, and cannot have a checkered traffic history, including reckless driving citations or other DUI arrests.
Eligible defendants must enroll in alcohol treatment and education classes through Court Options or the Advocate Program, two pretrial diversion programs already in use for Miami-Dade DUI defendants. Participants must pay anywhere between $2,000 to $3,000 in fees and court fines.
Drivers who have a blood-alcohol content level of more than .15, nearly double the legal limit, or who refuse to take a police Breathalyzer test, will have to undergo more stringent monitoring. That includes placing an “ignition interlock” device on their car, rendering it inoperable unless the person blows into a device that tests for alcohol.
If the defendant successfully completes the program, the DUI charge will be busted down to reckless driving and a “withhold of adjudication” will be granted, meaning a conviction will not appear on their record.
The DUI won’t be forgotten entirely. If the defendant is arrested on a future drunk driving charge, prosecutors can seek enhanced penalties because they will be able to tell whether the reckless driving charge had once been a DUI case.
The new program has elicited mixed reaction at Miami-Dade’s courthouse, which is consistently backlogged with thousands of DUI cases. Last year, 5,639 DUI cases were filed in Miami-Dade, down from 6,321 the previous year, according to court statistics.
Discussions on a pretrial diversion program have been in the works for several years among defense lawyers, prosecutors, MADD and police officers. A similar program exists in Orlando, but is more forgiving because DUI cases are dropped completely if the pretrial diversion program is completed.
“The vast majority of first DUIs are people who make stupid mistakes. Turning them into criminals doesn’t make any sense. A good number of them are going to get off because an officer doesn’t show, and evidence falls apart. What happens to those people? They’re not on the radar, and they’re not going to get treatment,”.
Officially, police departments have been guarded in their responses. Miami-Dade Police, the county’s largest agency, said only that it “continues to perceive driving under the influence of alcohol or any other impairing substance as a serious offense that endangers our community.”
The Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police is taking a wait-and-see approach, said president Clarke P. Maher, who acknowledged the program “makes sense on paper.”
Privately, officers are grumbling. One Miami-Dade officer who specializes in DUIs said the program “decriminalizes DUIs.”
“Down the road, the streets are going to be more dangerous for drivers. I think we’re going to see an increase in recidivism,” said the officer, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized by the department to speak

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/16/2219789/miami-dade-unveils-dui-diversion.html#ixzz1PuPrqvAE

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Editor’s Note:

Jonathan Blecher