A new Mothers Against Drunk Driving Court Monitoring Report shows a 58 percent conviction rate for drunk and drug-impaired drivers in 2021, down from 63 percent in 2020.
The report reflects observations and data collected by MADD court monitors in 12 states from Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021.
“Impaired driving due to alcohol and other drugs is the No. 1 killer on America’s roads. We know that the way to stop these 100 percent preventable deaths and injuries is with strong laws that are enforced and hold impaired drivers accountable every time,” said MADD National President Alex Otte. “It’s disappointing to learn that just a little over half of drunk drivers were convicted last year, at a time when traffic deaths are skyrocketing. The information collected by our court monitors is so important because it helps guide our work with the justice system to support law enforcement efforts to protect our communities from impaired driving.”
Observing courtroom proceedings is a longstanding tradition with MADD. The formal program began in 2015, when MADD established training for staff and volunteers who attend judicial proceedings to ensure impaired driving laws are enforced and prosecuted to the fullest extent. The monitored cases do not involve injuries or deaths.
Among the findings in 2021:
- 120 court monitors observed roughly 33,000 impaired driving cases; 58 percent of adjudicated cases resulted in a guilty verdict
- 7 percent of cases were dismissed (includes dismissals by the prosecution known as Nolle Prosequi)
- 60 percent of defendants were age 21-39
- 73 percent of defendants were male
- 32 percent of defendants were men between the ages of 21-39
- 78 percent of defendants were charged with a first drunk driving offense and 12 percent with a second offense
- 22 percent of defendants had two or more offenses
- 45 percent of the offenders registered a BAC of .08 to .14
- 48 percent of the offenders registered a BAC of .15 or higher
The Court Monitoring Program is part of MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving®, started in 2006, to support law enforcement efforts to protect the public from drunk and drug-impaired driving.
Volunteers and staff document every step of the judicial process and enter the disposition, age and gender of the offender, outcome and other information about each case. MADD’s Court Monitoring Program is now active in 14 states across the country, with plans to expand to other states as volunteers and funding become available.
States with court monitoring are:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
The report outlines observations by court monitors who collected data over a one-year period in at least one jurisdiction within their state (reports for 10 court monitoring states can be found here). The results are from a diverse cross-section of jurisdictions across the country. Ultimately, MADD hopes to add enough volunteers and staff to monitor courts in every jurisdiction, in every state, to produce comprehensive statewide and nationwide reports.
Share
Contributors
