Transcript Partnerships That Work: Discovering Our Commonalities

Impacting DWI
Adjudication From The
Outside
Partnerships That Work:
The Texas Experience
2007 Life Savers
Judy Allen
Texas Department of Transportation
Traffic Safety Section
Program Manager
Alcohol and Other Drugs
[email protected]
512-416-3194
Comprehensive Alcohol and Other
Drug Program
Highway Safety Professionals
Law Enforcement
Prosecutors
Judges
Laws Enacted Nationally
To punish convicted drunk driving
offenders
Laws are not enough
Impaired Driving Cases - Complex
Comprehensive education and
attention to issues of drunk driving,
Educating judges about DWI courts,
Making the prosecution and judiciary
aware of the importance of effective
adjudication
Program Partners
• Texas Department of Transportation
• Texas Municipal Police Association
• Texas District and County Attorneys
Association
• Texas Center for Judiciary
• Texas Association of Counties
• Texas Justice Court Training Center
• Texas Municipal Courts Education Center
Partnership/Resources
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
South Central Regional Office
Harry Crum
Kenneth Copeland
Gary Taylor
Georgia Chakiris
My role in Traffic Safety is:
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The Judiciary
Prosecution
Law Enforcement
Public Information and Education
Alcohol Treatment
Highway Safety Professional
Members of Legislative Branch
Victims Advocates
Educators
Other
Three Major Events
1. Identify and Develop Partnerships
2. Impaired Driving Self Assessment
3. Shift in Priorities
How we got here
1. Identify and Develop
Partnerships
The Process …
Results
1st organization as result of canvassing
Texas Municipal Police Association
– Law Enforcement Liaisons
• Supports all Projects in the Texas HSP
– LEADRS- DWI Processing Project
• Decrease report writing time
• Benefit officers/prosecutors in/out of
courtroom
• Piloting in other states
TMPA Follow-Up Information
• www.tmpa.org
• www.buckleuptexas.com
• www.leadrs.com
How we got here
2. Impaired Driving Self
Assessment
The Process…
How we got here
3. Shift in Priorities
The Process…
NHTSA Priority
Focus to include:
Judiciary/Prosecution
Lessons Learned
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Impaired Driving Assessment
NHTSA Regional Office – Resource
Take advantage of every opportunity
Explore
Build on each partnership
Enjoy the process/new partners
Be a partner/provide support
More work to be done
Texas District and County
Attorneys Association
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Serving 329 elected prosecutors
Over 2500 prosecuting attorneys
5,000 total members
50 training programs attended by 7000+
TDCAA Educational Resources
• 31 Publications including Bi-Monthly
Magazine
• Weekly E-mail Case Law Summaries
website archived with interactive “User
Forum”
• E-mail and phone technical assistance
• 16-20 regional DWI programs, 2 Basic
Trial Skills, 2 Train the Trainers
DWI Resource Prosecutor
3 year TxDOT Grant
• Regional DWI Programs
– Joint Officer and Prosecutor Training
– Focus on prosecution rather than detection
• DWI Focus in Existing Education,
Publications, Technical Assistance,
Periodicals, Website functions
• Liaison with and for prosecutors
• Provide Prosecutor perspective to other
partners
• W. Clay Abbott- [email protected]
Understanding
Texas
Dual High
Appellate
Courts
District Courts/District
Attorneys- Felony
Jurisdiction
County Courts/County Courts at
Law/County Attorneys/Criminal DAJailable Misdemeanor Jurisdiction
Justice Court/County Attorneys in Counties
Municipal Courts/Municipal Prosecutors in Cities
Fine-Only Criminal Jurisdiction
Texas Center for the Judiciary
• Primary provider of specialized judicial
education and training opportunities
• >1100 Texas judges
– Appellate
– District
– County Court at Law
Texas Center for the Judiciary
• Judicial Education Programs
– College for New Judges
– Regional Judicial Conferences
– Criminal Justice Seminars
– Texas College for Judicial Studies
– Judicial Section Annual Conference
Texas Center for the Judiciary
• Court Personnel Programs
– Professional Development Program
• Trial Court Coordination
• Trial Court Management
• Trial Court Administration
Texas Center for the Judiciary
• Judicial Education Resources
– Bench Book
– In Chambers
– Judicial Resource Library
– Website
• www.yourhonor.com
• additional resources and links
Texas Judicial Resource Liaison
3 year TxDOT grant
• Judge David L. Hodges:
– Works with the Texas judiciary to provide
education, technical assistance, and resources on
DWI related subjects
– Developed 3 Day DWI-specific Education
Conference
– Trains judges on the implementation of DWI
Courts
[email protected]
“DWI Court” means the creation
of a specific docket for repeat
offenders who report to the
Court on a regular basis with
their probation officer and
treatment counselor for a Court
supervised status hearing.
Texas Association of Counties
(TAC)
• Provides services to Texas counties &
assistance to all county officials.
• Formed over 30 years ago to inform
counties of legislative issues that affect
them.
• TAC’s services have since expanded to
meet the growing needs of counties,
including providing education to elected
county officials.
TAC – Judicial Education
• Statewide Conferences:
– Texas Judicial Academy
• Spring and Fall Training
– Orientation for newly elected judges
• Regional conferences
• Judicial mentoring
• Bench Book training
Rural Judges DWI Court Pilot Project
TAC
3 year TxDOT grant
• Purpose: to assist rural constitutional county
judges in the establishment of DWI courts
• Target Audience: 170 counties in Texas that do
not have county courts-at-law
• Constitutional judges hear 1st and 2nd offense
DWI (not required to be an attorney)
Rural Judges DWI Court Pilot Project
TAC
• Reduce recidivism of DWI cases in
rural counties by training county
judges to use proven techniques:
– Appropriate sentencing
– Intensive supervision
– Behavior modification
Why Rural Counties?
• 10% of population in Texas reside in targeted
rural counties
• 15% of all DWI offenses in Texas occur in
targeted rural counties
Rural Judges DWI Court Pilot Project
TAC
DWI Training
• DWI Training at 3 Statewide
Judicial Conferences
• DWI Training at 1 Regional
Judicial Conference
• Individualized DWI Court
Training
Rural Judges DWI Court Pilot Project
TAC
Educational Resources
• Benchbook – Printed & Online
• Mock DWI Trial DVD
• Technical Support
• Legal Hotline
• www.county.org
• Online Laws & Codes
• Judicial Listserve
Jay Johnson
Education Program Manager
[email protected]
Gene Terry
DWI Courts Grant Project Director
[email protected]
Texas Association of Counties
512-478-8753
Texas Justice Court Training Center
• Charged with providing training to 838 JPs
– 80 hour new judges training
– 20 hour experienced judges training
• Justice of the Peace has civil and criminal
jurisdiction
• Wide ranging backgrounds, lawyers to barbers
to law enforcement to rodeo clowns
Texas Justice Court Training Center
(TJCTC)
Justice Court Traffic Safety Initiative
3 year TxDOT grant
• EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
– DWI Magistration
– Juvenile/Underage Drinking DWI
Inquest/Magistration Field Guide
– Course on the Field Guide
Justice Court Traffic Safety Initiative
TJCTC
• PI&E
– Courthouse Lobby Traffic Safety Displays
– Prepackaged Presentations, including DVD,
speech, power point, in English & Spanish, on
“DWI and the Role of the Judiciary” and
“Underage Drinking” distributed to all 838
Justices of the Peace
Justice Court Traffic Safety Initiative
TJCTC
• COUNTY COURT COALITION
– Work with County Courts to create a bond
condition schematic for DWI offenders
• Increases the likelihood of compliance with bond
conditions
• Ensures all gears turn together
Goal to Reduce recidivism
Texas Justice Court Training Center
• Roger Rountree
– Executive Director, [email protected]
• Bronson Tucker
– Program Attorney, [email protected]
• Hon. Connie Mayfield
– JPCA President, [email protected]
• TJCTC phone: 1(800)687-8528
Texas Municipal Courts
Education Center
• Provides judicial education, educational
resources and technical assistance for all
municipal judges and court support
personnel in Texas
– 1,300 judges
– 3,000 court administrators, clerks and deputy
clerks
– 800 municipal prosecutors
– 500 bailiffs/warrant officers/marshals
Texas Municipal Courts
Education Center
• Educational Resources
– The Judges’ Book
– Bench Book and Forms Book
– Newsletter
– Quick Reference Guides
– Charts and Pamphlets
– Certification Guides
– Videos and CDs
– Audio Tapes
Texas Municipal Courts
Education Center
• Seminars
– Specialized curriculum focused on
municipal courts
– Weeklong new judge, new clerk programs
– Regional 3-day programs for each
constituency
– One day orientations, workshops and
clinics
– Webinars
Texas Municipal Courts Education Center
Municipal Traffic Safety Initiatives
3 year TxDOT Grant
• Develop traffic safety courses for regional
conferences
• Develop traffic safety quality of life awareness
campaigns for city managers so that municipal
courts receive local support for state and local
traffic safety
• Prepare traffic safety feature articles, develop
website link, newsletter pages, and exhibits
• Design and conduct a statewide traffic safety
conference
Texas Municipal Courts
Education Center
• Technical Assistance
– 800 line
– Court Visits
• Clerk Certification Program
• Web Site: www.tmcec.com
• Hope Lochridge [email protected]
512-320-8274
Judicial Challenges to Partnerships
with Outside Agencies
Judge
Jones
Question
#1
Judge Jones has been invited to serve on
Advocacy
Advisory
Board.
Would Judge Jones’ participation on the
Board likely to violate the Code of
Judicial Conduct?
Yes
Judge
Jones
Question
#2
Can Judge Jones accept an invitation
from a local victims advocates group to
speak at a dinner honoring the law
enforcement officers who made the most
DWI arrests in the past year?
No
Judge
Jones
Question
#3
Can Judge Jones appear on a weekly
question-and-answer radio talk show to
speak on “The Role of MADD and the
Court System”?
Yes (qualified)