Jul. 4–It’s getting harder to escape conviction for drunken driving in Mecklenburg County and across North Carolina.

Last year, nearly three out of four motorists charged with driving while impaired in Mecklenburg either pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial. The 74 percent punishment rate was 9 percentage points higher than in 2003.

The chances of being convicted in Mecklenburg increased even more dramatically for motorists with alcohol levels above the legal limit who pleaded not guilty and fought the charges in court. Last year, 103 of those 120 DWI trials ended in convictions. That’s an 86 percent conviction rate. In 2003, the conviction rate was 59 percent.

In similar DWI trials across the state during the same time, the conviction rate increased from 63 percent to 72 percent.

“It’s a whole new world out there,” Charlotte defense lawyer George Laughrun said. “It’s a lot more difficult to get out of a DWI today than it was two years ago.”

Laughrun, who specializes in defending DWI suspects, believes police are making better cases and prosecutors are better prepared in court.

“There’s been a huge jump in convictions,” the defense lawyer…

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Jan. 30–Drunken driving conviction rates have soared in Mecklenburg and other counties across the state since the Observer reported that thousands of DWI suspects had gotten off despite testing over the alcohol limit.

Mecklenburg’s conviction rate in such cases rose from 57 percent in late 2003 to 75 percent a year later.

Conviction rates statewide also rose since last summer, when the Observer first published articles on DWI trials. The rates in some of the state’s most lenient counties have more than doubled.

The stories found that nearly all DWI suspects who went to trial in some counties were found guilty, while about nine of every 10 in other counties were acquitted.

That prompted the state’s top Supreme Court justice to warn judges not to make prosecutors’ burden of proof more difficult than it should be.

Several factors may have contributed to Mecklenburg’s rising conviction rate. The judge with the lowest rate, Jerome Leonard, stopped hearing DWI cases. Tougher judges were assigned to courtrooms that handle DWIs. And most judges began finding more defendants guilty.

The number of DWI trials in Mecklenburg, meanwhile, dropped dramatically. Court officials say that’s because defense lawyers realize they’re less likely to win acquittals.

The result:…

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Dec. 1–Not so long ago, a drinking driver had a fair chance at getting off the hook in North Carolina. In fact, The Charlotte Observer reported two years ago, drivers who had more than the legal alcohol limit of .08 percent were convicted fewer than two-thirds of the time — and in some courtrooms, judges almost always let them go. The Observer found that an astonishing 10,000 DWI charges were dismissed each year for a variety of…

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Sep. 24–So you had a few drinks too many and, for the first time in your life, got pulled over on your way home. The prosecutor offers a simple deal: Instead of going to trial, you can plead guilty to driving while intoxicated and get probation. That’s an easy one, right? For a surprising number of first-time DWI offenders in Harris County, however, the choice isn’t so clear. Facing the stiff costs and strict rules that come with probation, thousands of convicted drivers in recent years have decided spending time behind bars is the better option. And in a county already struggling with crowded jails, that’s a disturbing trend. Sentences can be short enough to mean losing only one weekend and a vacation day, but some end up behind bars as long as half…

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Sep. 3–At first glance, Debbie Johnson and Angel Ponce might not seem to have much in common. One is a Pearland mother, employed by the Baylor College of Medicine, whose oldest son was killed by a drunken driver. Another is a former gang member, inked with tattoos and confined to a wheelchair after he accidentally killed his girlfriend while driving drunk. Although they have never met, Johnson and Ponce are united in the same crusade: warning offenders arrested for drunken driving about the devastation they could inflict. Each month, they and others who have endured similar tragedies speak to hundreds of strangers, without pay, about the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Known as DWI victim impact panels, these forums are used throughout the nation as a way of getting offenders’ attention. While Texas law does not require everyone convicted of driving while intoxicated to participate in such forums, judges typically order offenders to attend them as a condition of probation. In some counties, the attendance fees paid by offenders go to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Others, including Harris County, operate their panels independently of MADD and do not send money to the activist group. Research has indicated such panels may not be effective in preventing repeated..

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un. 25–Promising they’ll overhaul North Carolina’s DWI laws this year, legislators have advanced a bill that would make it harder for judges to second-guess the results of alcohol breath tests.

The bill, expected to win approval from lawmakers and Gov. Mike Easley, follows recommendations from a state task force and the findings of Charlotte Observer investigations.

It also would require police to investigate the immigration status of some impaired drivers, and stiffen penalties for drunk motorists involved in deadly wrecks.

“I think it represents a significant step forward,” said Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, who sponsored the bill and served on a Senate judiciary committee that approved it Thursday. “It certainly makes it abundantly clear what the law is.”

N.C. law says a driver with an alcohol level of 0.08 or more commits the offense of driving while impaired.

But Observer stories published in 2004 showed that N.C. judges acquitted more than…

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Santa Fe Municipal Court Judge Frances Gallegos says a recent study of drunken driving statistics, which shows her DWI conviction rate at nearly 64 percent, is flawed and misleading.

In a statement released Tuesday, Gallegos said she wants the City Council to choose an independent auditor to evaluate the court’s DWI data. She said she will present the names of three auditors recommended by the state Administrative Office of the Court to evaluate the court’s DWI record.

“The court stands behind the statistics on the DWI convictions and sentencing as well as the court’s explanation of these sentencing statistics ,” the statement said.

The DWI conviction rate in Gallegos’ court has been subject to a monthlong controversy, after three city councilors released a report by Mothers Against Drunk Driving unfavorable to the judge. Another study also commissioned by MADD showed a higher conviction rate, but the judge said it too

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May 24–ARLINGTON — According to the terms of his probation, Horace L. McKee could only drive if his vehicle was equipped with a breathalyzer. The device was not supposed to let him start the car if he had been drinking.

But police believe McKee, 49, had been drinking Friday night when, according to a police report, he ran a red light and rammed into a 2006 Scion, critically injuring 12-year-old Kaitlyn Wade.

“Part of the investigation is whether he had a breathalyzer in the truck,” said Lt. Blake Miller, a police spokesman.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing, Miller said, and specific details including McKee’s blood-alcohol level won’t be known until it’s complete.

After the…

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May 24–Drunken drivers here soon will face another roadblock that’s meant to stop them from drinking and operating a motor vehicle: an ankle bracelet that can tell when they have had a drink.

The electronic device — which measures through the skin how much alcohol someone has consumed — is intended for persistent felony drunken drivers.

Authorities will monitor the devices and bring in for questioning anyone who is caught drinking. Violations could get the offender booted out of the new program and sent to jail.

“If we can stop them from drinking, then half of the drinking-and-driving issue is taken away,” said Jeffrey D. Smith, principal court analyst for the 8th Judicial District.

Violators here will wear the devices as part of a new DWI Court for Erie and Niagara counties. Offenders who enter the court program agree to wear the device, swear off alcohol and meet with counselors and probation officers.

Although the local courts are the first in New York State to use the devices, offenders across the country have worn them, including celebrities such as “30 Rock” star Tracy Morgan and former “Lost” actress Michelle…

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Oct. 1–Mecklenburg’s DWI treatment court is accepting illegal immigrants and some of them may be avoiding deportation because of it.

Robert Guy, who heads North Carolina’s probation program, said probation officers have overheard Mecklenburg’s DWI treatment court officials talk about sending suspected illegal immigrants to treatment centers, so they don’t go to jail and have their immigration status checked.

“These people need to be in jail and deported,” Guy said. “I’m not going to tolerate this.

“I’m hellbent that these people need to be deported. If they’re illegal, they need to be punished and deported.”

The DWI treatment court is an intense, 12-month voluntary program for people convicted of drunken driving at least twice. It requires substance abuse treatment, drug testing and frequent meetings with a judge, probation officer and case coordinator.

Todd Nuccio, Mecklenburg’s trial court administrator, and Janeanne Tourtellott, the drug treatment court administrator, said DWI treatment court officials are not shielding illegal immigrants from deportation.

“There have been no discussions or concerted plan.

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