NCJ Number
133792
Journal
Prosecutor Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1991) Pages: 13-20,22
Date Published
1991
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The biggest problem the prosecutor faces in driving while intoxicated (DWI) cases is showing that the defendant is as much a threat to society as the armed robbery suspect.
Abstract
Even with the media attention and group pressure given to drunk drivers, juries still hesitate to convict the DWI offender unless there is a collision involving death or serious injury. While many states have had in-house videotaping of DWI offenders for many years, few have had any success with these videotapes in court. Many alcoholics have learned how to "play the game." Many have acquired over the years the ability to counter the effects of alcohol. Some defendants have become more sober during the time from arrest to actual videotaping. On-scene videotaping does away with this time. The suspect is seen driving and performing by the jury the same way the officer observed it. The jury can see and hear how the defendant is "more of a hazard to society." During the 1990s mobile videotaping will become the most important tool of the law enforcement community in the war against the intoxicated driver.