Montgomery County State’s Attorney Robert L. Dean plans to announce today that he will no longer allow people charged with driving while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol to have their criminal records wiped clean.

In a memo sent yesterday to members of the County Council, Dean (D) said he decided to phase out the DWI and DUI program, known as REDDO, as of March 1 because the six-year experiment was not meeting its goals. Lawyers familiar with the program said it also has troubling procedural loopholes that could allow defendants to enter the diversion program repeatedly because records of their earlier DWI and DUI arrests are erased.

The program currently accounts for 25 to 30 percent of all DWI cases, Dean said in his memo. Dean, who scheduled a news conference for today, declined last night to discuss his decision or say how many defendants would be affected by the change.
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Source : pqasb.pqarchiver.com

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