MADD’s Court Monitoring Program enlists court monitors to observe and document what happens in the courtroom during drunk driving case proceedings. Court Monitoring enhances transparency and accountability within the criminal justice system and reduces the likelihood of repeat drunk driving offenses. A key component of court monitoring is promoting public interest in the justice system and creating awareness of the outcomes of drunk driving cases. Court Monitoring is a proven tool to affect the adjudication process and is an effective countermeasure to reduce drunk driving*. Court Monitoring on the local scale can make an impact on the handling of drunk driving cases just by their mere presence in the courtroom. MADD’s team of staff and volunteers track individual cases, compile information about each case and create reports regarding case
disposition. Court Monitors let prosecutors and judges know - in a non-adversarial way - that MADD is watching drunk driving cases and looking for trends in how these cases are handled. Through this process, MADD seeks to maintain strong partnerships with members of the judicial system. * Goodwin, A., Thomas, L., Kirley, B., Hall, W., O’Brien, N., & Hill, K. (2015, November). Countermeasures that work: A highway safety countermeasure guide for State highway safety offices, Eighth edition. (Report No. DOT HS 812 202). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Court Monitors track misdemeanor drunk driving cases in the Magistrate courts of their respective counties. The monitors are physically present for court settings and acquire case information from courtroom observation and, when necessary, from researching online databases in the event a monitor is not able to be present at the proceeding. The data is then entered into the MADD National Court Monitoring Database for reporting purposes.
This report is designed to present observations and trends relative to the counties monitored, and are not intended to be a statistical analysis. State Report (reporting period: 9/1/2017 - 9/1/2018)
Guilty
2238
83% <1% <1% 16% <1%
Not Guilty
10
Deferred Prosecution
22
Open Cases
1.689
39%
Dismissed Amended
426
Total Adjudicated
2,698
61%
3
4,387
Total Cases Monitored
2,698
Total Adjudicated
Overall Disposition Detail
Total Adjudicated
Bexar
Dallas
Gregg
Harris
Montgomery
Smith
Travis
Amended Dismissed Deferred Not Guilty
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
39
4
28
256
82
14
3
426
21
1
0 0
0
0 0
0 0
0 0
22
2
0
8
10
Guilty Total
69
8
786 814
549 813
260
556
9
2237
134
13
342
570
12
2698
The chart above reflects a case study of data for the following counties — Bexar, Dallas, Gregg, Harris, Montgomery, Smith, Travis.
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