SD (South Dakota) - ASAP (Alcohol Safety Action Project) - An Analysis of ASAP Impact on the Judicial System - Analytical Study Number 4, 1976

• NCJ Number: 74830
• Author(s): P B Krause
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 49 pages
• Contract Number(s): DOT HS-045-1-061
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Admin
• Corporate Author: University of South Dakota
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examines the impact of the South Dakota Alcohol Safety Action Project (ASAP) on the number of driving while intoxicated (DWI) cases processed and processing time in the State court system during the years 1972-1975.

Abstract

The 16,000 DWI arrests during the operational period represent an arrest rate more than 3 times that of preproject years. These arrests resulted in nearly 14,000 court adjudications with known final disposition. The conviction rate for this period was 84.3 percent, a decline of 7.7 percent from a baseline period (1968-1971) conviction rate of 92 percent. A backlog of cases was created so that the median elapsed time between arrest and adjudication increased from only 5 days in the baseline period to 7 days during the operational period. The distribution of blood alcohol concentrations (BAC'S) shifted significantly toward lower BAC's. This was attributed partly to a lowering of the presumptive limit from .15 to .10 just prior to the project and partly to greater enforcement sensitivity toward drivers with lower BAC's. The proportion of arrests with BAC evidence sufficient for conviction was no less during the operational period than during the baseline period. A comparison of the district/county courts and municipal courts showed that the district/county courts had the larger percentage increase in caseload; however, the conviction rate remained at baseline level. The municipal courts were responsible for the entire decline in convictions, and most were attributable to the single court in Sioux Falls. Shortcomings observed in the South dakota court system were mainly agency-specific and ASAP's ability to effect improvements in the conviction rate depended entirely on the cooperation of judges and prosecutors. Although the ASAP possibly could have alleviated some of the backlog of pending cases by providing prosecution assistance, an attempt to do so in 1975 failed because no qualified attorneys could be retained. Flow charts, data tables, graphs, and footnotes are included. (Author abstract modified)