who prosecute cases—a delayed case has a much lower chance of ending in a conviction.
Discussion
Collectively, the data presented in this report are concerning, starting with a less than 50% conviction rate in six of seven counties and around 30% in some counties. While DUI convictions are arguably challenging in many other states as well, the numbers clearly indicate the DUI conviction rate is considerably lower in South Carolina. We also see considerable variations in conviction rates based on the combinations of who is prosecuting (attorney or officer) and who is defending (defense attorney or accused defending themselves). Of particular concern is the practice of officers prosecuting their own cases, especially as our data show they have just a 13% conviction rate when facing a defense attorney. The reasons for these challenges are multiple and complex. However, below we attempt to highlight many of the primary factors that cause us concern based on our observations and our multiple conversations with our expert panels.
A Focus on Pleading Down Cases
Rather than speculate or risk second-guessing those who know each case best, we would like to focus on the larger issues that lead to frequent pleading down to reckless driving, or other lesser charges, in our state. This discussion does not come directly from the court cases we monitored because the factor or factors that lead to a case being pled down rarely get mentioned in open court. Our court monitor will only hear, or see online, that a plea deal was worked out, but not why. Therefore, our discussions with our informed experts were key as we worked through a list of the primary factors for pleading down a DUI charge to a lesser charge. 1. South Carolina’s Dash Cam Video Recording Statute. By all accounts, South Carolina has the nation’s strictest law ( 56-5-2953 ) regarding the significance of in-car video (dash cam) footage to the prosecution of a DUI case. While dash cam footage of the arrest process is used in many states, South Carolina places unique emphasis on its presence and completeness to the extent that generally there cannot be a conviction without a video and even minor imperfections in the video can preclude getting a conviction, despite the presence of other strong evidence. In other words, an officer can witness and record erratic driving behavior, smell alcohol on the person, hear an admission to drinking and driving, and have their shoes vomited on, but if their dash cam video is lacking, the case likely will be thrown out or pled down to reckless driving. Video problems could include faulty video or audio, parts of the arrest process being unclear or obscured, or even just portions of the person’s body being assessed for impairment being out of frame for short moments. Many cases are lost when
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