An interim Legislative committee has decided to put some flexibility in the “24-7 sobriety program.”
The 2013 DUI law says a person with a second drunk driving offense would be put in that program as part of probation. The program requires the person to be monitored – either by a bracelet or by submitting to twice a day alcohol tests. The offender would have to serve at least a year in that program.
State Sen. Kelly Armstrong (R-Dickinson) says there is a quirk in the law – in that a person could be put into “24-7” soon after the Department of Transportation suspends that person’s driver’s license – but any criminal sentencing could be months down the road – so the question is – where does the year begin?
"There's 25 days after you get arrested, when you would end up in these programs," said Armstrong. "If you're in the criminal system, it could be 11 months out before you end up in these programs."
Armstrong says because this applies to both the criminal sanctions and the administrative sanctions, judges should have some leeway in sentencing someone to the 24-7 program. As an example, he pointed to McKenzie County – which is in the oil patch, and has a crowded court calendar.
"If you want to go to jury on a DUI, often times your jury trial could be 9 to 13 months out," said Armstrong. "So if you had a breath test on a second offense DUI in McKenzie County on January first, you could be on 24-7 as soon as February first. Your jury trial could be December first. And then, as a condition of probation, you would get a year of 24-7. Well, you wouldn't really get a year of 24-7 -- you would get 23 months."
Armstrong says his amendment would allow a judge to say that the one year imposed by administrative sanction is enough in certain cases. He says the one-year minimum would still be in state law –and the judge has the right to extend that time.
The interim Judiciary Committee approved it by unanimous vote. The bill will be reviewed by the Legislative Management Committee, who will decide whether it will be introduced in the 2015 session.
