Home confinement for drunk driving
Connecticut is one of the progressive states that allows for a first-time offender of Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs (OUI) to get some education and walk away without a criminal record. Other states force a person to take a conviction the first time he or she is pulled over and arrested for an OUI. We discussed this program in an earlier edition of Reasonable Doubt.
In this edition, we are going to look at the changes made by the state legislature regarding the incarceration of people for drunk-driving related offenses. Recent changes in the law over the past year make the decision-making process for attorneys and clients much different from the past.
In the past, if a person was arrested for drunk driving within ten years after using the Alcohol Education Program, he was subject to being convicted of OUI, which would usually result in a sentence of six months suspended and eighteen months of probation with a substance abuse evaluation, 100 hours of community service and attending the Victim Impact Panel run by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. If the same person was then arrested for OUI a third time, he or she would be exposed to a prison sentence of up to two years, 120 days of which are a mandatory minimum. Conviction of OUI as a second offender is a felony as well.
The conventional wisdom used to be simple: If someone was a second offender or worse, then it was worth trying the case because he would have to do at least 120 days in jail. As a point of fact, if a person is prosecuted as a third offender, then the mandatory minimum is one year in jail with a maximum of three years.
Holding the state to its burden for a case like this always calls into question the science behind many of the assumptions behind drunk driving, and contrary to popular myth, OUI trials are winnable trials for the defense. The only problem is that juries typically don’t like drunk-driving cases, and in the event of a conviction, one can always expect a heavy penalty to be imposed.
As of July of 2011, the state legislature passed Public Act 11-51, Section 26, which will promulgate a new section of 14-227a concerning Home Confinement for OUI offenders. This January, the Department of Corrections has begun implementing its new procedures to determine who would be eligible for home confinement. Some inmates have already been released through this process but widespread implementation won’t occur until February.
The way the system works is roughly as follows: After 10 days of incarceration, the prisoner is evaluated and triaged out based on a number of factors. Department of Corrections officials look at the needs of the prisoner and the risk posed to him or herself and the community. A “lowest risk” prisoner can be released into a treatment program as early as ten to fourteen days into the sentence. The DOC will release the prisoner into what is referred to as integrated treatment and supervision or simply ITS. From here, the prisoner is monitored and usually kept confined at home through electronic monitoring unless going to treatment or monitoring. Low- and medium-risk prisoners may require treatment in a DOC facility prior to being released into ITS, but early release to home confinement is still possible. High-risk prisoners are subject to treatment in DOC facilities and may require inpatient treatment, and if they are to be released into ITS then they will likely be subject to intensive outpatient treatment. So what does all of this mean? It means that people need to think long and hard about taking a drunkdriving case to trial because the possibility of being released before the mandatory periods is a very attainable position. The risk of going to jail for a very long time after being convicted at trial is very real. When compared to being exposed to a much shorter period of incarceration that could be further reduced by complying with a DOC treatment plan, this means that clients and attorneys need to have some serious discussion before taking a case to trial.
As always, consult an attorney any time you or a friend has been arrested. Drunk-driving cases are serious and have serious repercussions. Understanding the penalties, which have changed substantially, will help you make a rational and educated decision. Next time we will take a look at how the penalties for marijuana have changed.
Thomas Leaf is an attorney who practices criminal defense law. He maintains an office in Bridgeport and takes cases from all across the state. If you have any comments or questions, he can be reached at info@attorneythomasleaf. com or 203-215-9778.
