Courts leave DWI information in the dark
Published September 27, 2013
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, September 27, 2013.
Since 2006, state law has required court administrators to post detailed information about the disposition of driving-while-impaired cases.
The law was needed. That was the same year this newspaper found that getting the right lawyer and the right judge in Cumberland County courts regularly led to lenient treatment for DWI offenders.
Those judges were voted out of office in the next election. But seven years later, the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts still hasn't complied with the disclosure law. State auditors say, "The public's ability to evaluate court performance and determine if state DWI laws have been applied equitably is limited."
Court officials say they want to comply, but they don't have the money. It would cost about $25 million to make all that information available, but court funding has been cut by $16 million since 2011.
How's that again? Lawmakers are slashing court funding while cities like Fayetteville struggle with horrific crime rates that usually involve repeat offenders? Is there any more fundamental duty of a government than protecting its citizens?
Taxpayers should be able to track the courts' performance with drunk drivers. Even more basic, court staffing is one place were supply must meet demand.
September 27, 2013 at 11:57 am
TP Wohlford says:
The problem with Fayetteville isn't a lack of court reporting. Rather it is a lifestyle, a culture, of many of its residents. The "Fix" of "lock 'em up and throw away the key" does work, but it is horrible expensive.
My bet is that Fayetteville could get massive infusions of money from, say, Obama, and their crime wouldn't change. However, if the word goes out that "they" aren't gonna stand for crime anymore, then it will fall dramatically, overnight.
