Case Dispositions by Level of Prosecution Support Some cases we monitored were prosecuted by an attorney from a Solicitor’s office or a municipality; some were prosecuted by the arresting officer. The latter is an unusual practice from a national perspective. The South Carolina Department of Transportation commissioned Clemson University to write a report that was titled “Applying Successfully Proven Measures in Roadway Safety to Reduce Harmful Collisions in SC.” It says that South Carolina is one of two states in the nation where police officers prosecute their own DUI cases, and this is often referenced as one of the main problematic issues with how our DUI cases are handled. It would be logical to assume that a trained attorney would have an advantage in a legal match-up against a road officer. A defense attorney may be able to make motions or use strategies that someone without formal legal training would be challenged to counter. Many officers we have spoken with do not want to prosecute their own cases and are frustrated at the “unfair” match-up. When organizing our data, we have developed what we call “high prosecution support” and “low prosecution support” categories. The easiest way to differentiate those two categories is that high prosecution support areas have lawyer prosecutors handling bench and jury trials and also play some role in cases where plea discussions are being had. A prosecutor may not be involved if the individual pleads guilty. Low prosecution support areas are where officers handle the prosecution of virtually every case on their own regardless of whether the accused wants to negotiate a plea or go to trial. In some areas we have deemed low prosecution support, a prosecutor may be available when assistance is specifically requested by the law enforcement agency due to some special circumstance of the case. The following charts show conviction rate data based on these two prosecution support categories. When there is adequate prosecution support, the likelihood of getting a guilty conviction is twice as high. This distinction is important. It suggests that a county with low conviction rates, which we believe greatly endangers highway safety and leads to preventable deaths and injuries, does not have to accept these low rates. With leadership and resources, the amount of prosecution support dedicated to DUI cases can be reshaped.
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