judge neil edward axel district court of maryland (retired) maryland highway safety judicial...
TRANSCRIPT
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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