A St. Paddy's CLE on the State of the Intoxilyzer

For better or worse, St. Patrick’s Day is strongly associated with drunk driving. The beer or other beverages may or may not be green, but they do flow.

So it was a most appropriate day for a continuing legal education (CLE) event on the status of a controversial device used to measure blood-alcohol content of people suspected of driving drunk. Over 4000 Minnesota DWI cases have been put on hold in the last five years amid challenges to the device, called the Intoxilyzer 5000EN.

The two CLE presenters were from a forensics firm hired to analyze the “source code” embedded in the Intoxilyzer. They stuck closely to their public report to the court in the consolidated case challenging law enforcement’s use of the device to measure blood-alcohol content.

This reticence was understandable because of last week’s court ruling in that case. Judge Jerome Abrams’ order in Scott County District Court upheld the reliability of the Intoxilyzer as evidence. But that ruling is now on appeal.

It is unclear how this appeal will proceed. Marsh Halberg, one of the leaders of the defense attorney coalition, told the Star Tribune that they may seek special permission from the court to appeal as a group. That would certainly make the logistics earlier, compared to individual appeals in 69 different counties.

With this appeal (or appeals) in the offing, however, the CLE presenters kept questions to a minimum. In fact, the only question posed by the participants was from Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom. He asked when a newer device, called the Datamaster, is expected to replace the Intoxilyzer statewide. About six months, came the answer.

DWI in MN: 1 in 7 Drivers

The holidays are a notoriously grim time on America's roads. Too many people drink too much and then drive without giving proper thought to the logistics of getting home safely.

Law enforcement agencies and safety advocates such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving try their best to respond to the challenge. Here in Minnesota, MADD is teaming up with the Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety and the State Patrol as part of a national effort called Tie One on for Safety. Members of the public are encouraged to tie red ribbons to their vehicles to signify a commitment to safe, sober, buckled-up driving.

The statistics cited in the Star Tribune news item announcing the annual campaign speak of a culture with a drinking problem. In Minnesota alone, there were 3,931 alcohol-related crashes last year. These crashes killed 141 people and injured 2,592.

Of course, the problem isn't only alcohol; it also includes other drugs. The I in DWI stands, after all, for impaired, and drivers can be impaired by drugs as well as alcohol. Sometimes, sadly, they are impaired by both.

It's pretty scary to consider how many impaired drivers are out on the roads - not just at the holidays, but throughout the year. One in seven Minnesota drivers has a DWI conviction.

1 in 7!

Thrown Another Curve By His Own Demons

Dwight Gooden, once a marvelously talented pitcher, has struggled for years with drug addiction. In the last few years, however, he seemed to have gotten his life on track. After working as an executive for the Newark Bears, a minor league team, he was hoping to land a job as a coach for the New York Mets, the team with which he rose to stardom in the mid-1980s. The Mets had invited him to spring training as an adviser.

Then the former pitcher threw it all away - again. With his five-year-old son in the car, he rear-ended another vehicle and was arrested. New Jersey authorities charged him with driving under the influence of drugs, child endangerment, DWI with a child passenger, and leaving the scene of an accident.

Gooden, 45, has tried drug rehab at least five times, has a half-dozen previous arrests, and served seven months in jail in Florida in 2006. Now comes this incident, in which he put his own son at risk. New Jersey police are not saying which drug they suspect Gooden of using, but he has a history of cocaine abuse.

How will this play out, I wonder, as the years unfold, in Gooden's relationship with his son?

Oneself as Another, Framed Through a Mug Shot

The young basketball star said all the right things, the day after his drunken driving arrest.

Timberwolves' power forward Al Jefferson, known an Big Al, was booked into jail in the early morning hours of March 1 on a charge of fourth-degree driving while impaired. He had made the choice to drink and then drive, only to be stopped by an officer of the state patrol on I-394 just outside downtown Minneapolis. A breath test administered at the scene showed his blood-alcohol content to be over the legal limit of .08.

Jefferson was out on bail within an hour, but his mug shot soon appeared on TV. The T-Wolves responded quickly by suspending Jefferson for two games, costing him $293,000 in lost salary.

The next day, Jefferson seemed genuinely remorseful. He apologized to his teammates, team management, fans, and his family (particularly the grandmother who raised him) for making a "stupid choice." He'd seriously considered calling someone to drive him home to Golden Valley, but then got in his car anyway.

In a lengthy interview with the Star Tribune, Jefferson acknowledged that the death of Timberwolves' player Malik Sealy at the hands of a drunk driver in May 2000 makes Jefferson's decision to drink and drive all the more disappointing.

"That's what really makes me feel bad. He was an innocent guy going home and a drunk driver hit him. I couldn't live with myself if that would have happened, if I would have done something to someone like that."

So Big Al seems to get it. Driving while impaired, he could have ended up like the man who killed Sealy. A mug shot is not a pretty picture, but at least Al Jefferson is seeing clearly through its frame.

DWI: A Pervasive Problem

DWI is a pervasive problem in Minnesota and around the country.

One in eight Minnesotans of driving age has been convicted at least once for drunken driving. According to data from the state patrol, there are about 35,000 arrests for DWI every year in Minnesota. This in a state with a total population of only 5 million.

A recurring theme for the media is to report on the arrest of drivers whose previous DWIs number in the teens. For example, on Christmas Eve last year, a man named Paul Garray lost control of his car on Highway 61/Interstate 494 in Newport. The state patrol arrested him after a breath test showed a blood alcohol content of twice the legal limit of 0.08.

The Star Trib dutifully reported that although Garray had as many as 19 previous DWIs on his record, the Newport city prosecutor could bring only bring only gross misdemeanor charges. Under Minnesota law, it takes four convictions in a ten-year period to make DWI punishable as a felony carrying a prison sentence of up to three years. Garray could not be charged with a felony because only two of his previous convictions had been in the last ten years.

Understandably, many people were not satisfied with this outcome. Mothers Against Drunk Driving called for more mandatory sentences that include the required use of ignition interlock devices. These devices force offenders to blow into them periodically, and the vehicle does not operate if the alcohol level is unacceptable.

County attorneys also weighed in. James Backstrom of Dakota County said there should be a lifetime limit, allowing DWI to be charged as a felony when the limit is reached regardless of how many occurred in the previous ten years. Doug Johnson of Washington County said there should be serious jail time even for first offenses.

Many of the rest of us have concerns about DWI laws, too. To the average citizen, the legal system’s inability to intervene effectively against chronic offenders is mystifying. Why is the problem so seemingly intractable?

Steve Simon, a University of Minnesota professor who directs the state’s drunken-driving task force, provides some context. For one thing, he points out, people who rack up multiple DWIs are usually chemically dependent. They also often have many other problems in addition to alcoholism.

So it’s not just a matter of an incomprehensible justice system. Drunk driving laws are, rather, a reflection of a complicated social reality in contemporary America. We cling to our freedom too tightly − and in the continuing carnage on the roads, this carries real and often deadly consequences..