Alcoholism Effects
By Ned Wicker I really should stop reading newspapers, because invariably there is going to be something in there regarding alcohol abuse that is going to make my blood boil. This was the case this morning.
Ms. Gina Barton of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote: “Jason M. Sterling has been convicted of drunken driving four times since 1991 - most recently for driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.263 last year. But Sterling got lucky at sentencing when a Fond du Lac County court disregarded his first three offenses. “As a result, Sterling's fourth offense was treated like a first: with a civil ticket, fine and driver's license suspension. It happened because Sterling, 37, of Fond du Lac, was able to prove that judges in his first three cases didn't give him all the necessary information before he gave up his sixth amendment right to an attorney.” All the necessary information? You’re drunk and you’re operating a motor vehicle and you tested at .263! What part of “you’re completely irresponsible” do you not understand? The law is a joke here in Wisconsin. If someone has a proven history of drunken driving the last thing you want to do is search for a loophole in the law to let them off. It doesn’t help the offender, it doesn’t help the community and it certainly doesn’t motivate the cops to constantly stop drunks on the road when they’re going to be let off the hook by foolish judges. The law is supposed to be a shield, to protect. All too often the law is used as a sword to attack. In this case the law is more like a whoopee cushion. I heard about a Michigan court case once where a man was found innocent of fondling his neighbor’s wife because at the time of the incident he was too drunk to formulate criminal intent. How did Sterling convince a judge that he didn’t understand his sixth amendment rights...on three separate occasions? Now that takes some doing. The DUI laws in this state are in serious need of revision. Attorneys can challenge the sixth amendment issue and do so in about 10% of the cases, according to the story. Think of the money and time tied up in litigating this nonsense when it is clear cut that a person was driving drunk. I’m sorry, but the blood alcohol level is the key. DUI is epidemic in Wisconsin and the laws protect it. In winter they drink and drive their snowmobiles and thumb their nose at law enforcement. There is change in the air in Wisconsin, but don’t hold your breath in anticipation of positive change. The law is one thing, but as I’ve written many times before, the culture has to change. All of us have to come to the point where we say that drunk driving is no longer tolerated. Society will pressure politicians, even do nothing politicians, into re-writing laws, throwing out the old ones and replacing them with legislation that makes sense. The first step will be to get the drunks off the roads. Step number two will be to properly deal with the individual offenders to prevent further offenses. That will include provisions for treatment, not just completing a course, but real treatment with follow-up procedures and accountability. Want to put a few million dollars back into state budgets? Stop the silly litigation for one thing, all of the senseless manipulation of the law. It’s not going to be easy, but it has to be done. If a person is a repeat drunk driving offender it is obvious they can not be trusted. Maybe they can’t help it, in which case we need to be the ones in charge, not some attorney getting them off the hook.
For more about Alcoholism Effects link to Books Alcoholism Effects Alcoholism Effects Alcoholism Effects Alcoholism Effects Alcoholism Effects
HOW TO USE THIS SITE:This site contains five MAIN pages that EVERYONE should read:ABOUT… Read these five pages and learn what you need to know to spot Addiction to Drugs in: Yourself... Your Family... Your Friends... Your Community... The rest of the pages are there for your reference to explain important topics in more detail.
|
