Judge Neil Edward AxelDistrict Court of Maryland (retired)

Maryland Highway Safety Judicial Conference

December 2, 2015

Best Practices & Sentencing Alternatives in Impaired Driving Cases

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Sentencing LimitationsDouglas v. State, 130 Md.App. 666 (2000)

Trial judge has “virtually boundless discretion”

Sentence should be “individualized” to fit the offender and not merely the crime.

Probation with such terms & conditions as the court deems proper [§6-221, Criminal Procedure Article]

Conditions must be clear, definite & reasonable

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Sentencing Goals in Impaired Driving Cases

Accountability Punishment Treatment Fine & costs

Protection of the Public Deterrence/prevention

General Specific

Set/mirror community standard?

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Scenario #1 The Defendant was lawfully stopped at 2:00 a.m. and submitted to breath testing with a BAC of 0.13. He pleads guilty to impaired driving without a plea agreement. The offender has no prior criminal or traffic record.

What do you do?

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Scenario # 1 - Sentencing

Is there a “standard” sentence for this first offender?

What information is important to you in arriving at your sentence?

Do you need additional information?

Which has the greater impact on your sentencing decision: facts about offense or facts about defendant

Scenario #2

Defendant pleads guilty to DUI with 0.21 BAC Stop based on crossing center line on 2 lane

road Defendant has little recall of event Offense occurred 8 months prior to plea

Has 1 prior DUI 6 years earlier (BAC – 0.17)

No new offenses since arrest Willing to enter treatment but hasn’t had

the time to do so

What do you do?

Query

Is there a correlation between what you want to accomplish in sentencing and the techniques you employ?

Are your sentences effective in meeting the “goals” of sentencing?

Does your sentence do more than just close out the case?

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Best Practices & Sentencing Alternatives

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Hard Core Impaired Drivers

What Doesn’t Work

Fines & jail alone Traditional probation Community service License suspension Victim impact panels

What Works

Close judicial supervision

Intensive supervision Interlock Assessment &

treatment Cognitive behavioral

therapy DUI Courts

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DUI Courts In General

Developed as a more effective judicially coordinated treatment-focused program to help reduce the adverse impact of repeat substance abusing offenders on the court system and the community at large.

The Court directly manages, oversees and supervises treatment and recovery.

The Court recognizes day-to-day success and failure on the spot with a system of sanctions and incentives while working with treatment providers to enforce and adjust treatment plans.

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Maryland Problem-Solving Courts Evaluation – Final Report (December 2009)

51% graduation rate 73% reduction in positive UA’s 19% reduction in recidivism rate 29% reduction in new arrests Average 2-year cost savings of $1982

per adult participant Average 18-month cost savings of

$2551 per juvenile participant

Improving Outcomes & Changing Behavior: Lessons from Drug/DUI Court

Need for closer supervision Need for reliable assessment

tools Need for better coordination

between supervision & treatment

Need to respond quicker to relapse/violations

Need to be able to adjust treatment

Need to understand addiction & recovery

Need for greater judicial involvement 13

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Reasons For Success:Evidence Based Practices

Team approach Moving/pushing individuals from compliance to

commitment - Coerced treatment works Ongoing judicial interaction & encouragement Close supervision & accountability

Frequent court reviews Team reviews Sanctions & incentives

Close coordination between treatment & supervision

Ability to identify & overcome barriers to success

Substance Abuse Treatment

An encounter with the criminal justice system provides a valuable opportunity to intervene in an individual’s life by identifying the clinical needs of substance abusers and then confronting them with the consequences of their own drug and alcohol use.”

“Responding to Substance Abuse: The Role We All Play,” 199915

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NIDA Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations (Sept. 2007)

Recovery from addiction requires effective treatment, followed by management of the problem over time

Assessment is the first step in treatment Treatment must last long enough to produce stable

behavioral changes Tailoring services to fit the needs of the individual is an

important part of effective treatment Drug use during treatment should be carefully monitored Continuity of care is essential for drug abusers re-entering

the community Medications are an important part of treatment for many

drug abusing offenders A balance of rewards and sanctions encourages pro-social

behavior & treatment participation

Drug & Alcohol Testing

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Community Supervision Supervised probation Unsupervised probation Is there:

Adequate supervision? Adequate testing regimen? Timely treatment

intervention and follow up? Timely reporting of

violations to the court? Timely response by the

Court to relapses/violations?

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Judicial Supervision

Deferred sentencing Review/reconsideration hearings Staggered sentences

But see Montgomery v. State, 405 Md. 67 (2008)

Progress reports from probation

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Judicial Interaction with Defendant

Judicial demeanor Quality of interaction as influential

Length of judicial interactions Direct interaction with the defendant 3-7 minutes

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Sentencing Options:Your Ideas

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Questions?Comments?

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