MADD’s Court Monitoring Program enlists court monitors to observe and document what happens in the courtroom during impaired driving case proceedings. The program was created to ensure that impaired driving offenders are prosecuted and justice is achieved. Court monitoring is a tool proven to affect the adjudication process and is recognized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as an effective countermeasure to reduce impaired driving 1 . Court monitors on the local scale can
impact the handling of impaired driving cases by their mere presence in the court room. Court monitoring is intended to enhance transparency and accountability within the criminal justice system and reduce the likelihood of repeat offenses. One way this goal is achieved is by sharing data and observations with law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, and the public to promote awareness of impaired driving and ensure accountability for all impaired driving offenders. To reduce future offenses, MADD® supports swift and unbiased treatment of all impaired driving cases. 1 Richard, C. M., Magee, K., Bacon-Abdelmoteleb, P., & Brown, J. L. (2018, April). Countermeasures that work: A highway safety countermeasure guide for State Highway Safety Offic- es, Ninth edition (Report No. DOT HS 812 478). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Court monitors, both staff and volunteer, monitor both misdemeanor and felony DWI cases in the associate and circuit courts in various counties throughout the state of Missouri, with the bulk of the counties encompassing the St. Louis and Kansas City Regions. Court monitors are physically present in court and observe various hearings as they proceed through the criminal justice system, collecting pertinent data. Data is verified with court clerks and most often with Missouri’s online court system, Casenet (https://www.courts.mo.gov/ casenet/base/welcome. do). The data collected is then entered into the MADD National Court Monitoring Database for reporting purposes. This report focuses on the cases closed from January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020. It does not include those offenders who have entered DWI/Alternative Court Treatment Programs.
Missouri State Report (reporting period: 1/1/2020 – 12/31/2020)
This report is designed to present observations and trends relative to the ten counties monitored and is not intended to be a statistical analysis.
Guilty
39% 1% 46%
412 4 482
Not Guilty Deferred Prosecution* Dismissed Amended to Misdemeanor** Amended** Nolle Prosequi
Pending Cases Monitored:
1,558
59% 58%
3% 4% 6% 1%
28 47 64 4
Adjudicated Cases Monitored:
1,041
2,599
Total Cases Monitored in 2020:
*Pending cases are cases waiting a judgement result.
*Deferred Prosecution includes a version of informal probation; and upon certain completion of terms, the charge may be expunged from the defendant’s record. **An amended disposition means the charge was either amended to a lesser charge (such as Reckless Driving) or amended to a higher charge (less common)
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