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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the judicial system experienced court closures and limited capacity which has
severely reduced the number of cases being handled in the courts. This continues into 2021 and it will be
some time before we are able to see the full impact of the delays and closures. Every county had their own specific restrictions and closures which made in-person court monitoring difficult in most counties. Some courts utilized virtual appearances through WebEx which enabled cases to move forward while capacity was limited. Some counties have not published the dockets during these closures which has been another obstacle
in continuing to court monitor cases during the pandemic. Being reliant on the information from the courthouse
database for the past year has made it difficult to note any new trends in causes for dismissals of cases. Being present in the courtroom is crucial in gathering more comprehensive data and identifying issues that are
addressed during hearings and trials.
In the data that we have gathered over these past two years, we are able to see that many DWI cases in most
counties take up to two years to reach a final disposition. When cases drag on for this long, it requires the officer to be present at each court date and continues to keep large numbers of cases on the already
overcrowded dockets. This will only get worse with the backlog that we will experience from the effects of the
pandemic and court closures. Another observation is how challenging and time consuming DWI trials have become and that makes these delays even more important as officers need to remember every detail of an
arrest from two years ago. Pretrial motions have become common and require Adequate training is crucial to
assist both law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges in the handling of these legally complicated cases. Making sure that all parties have access to training and resources to help address the increase in drugged driving cases and the complicated legal issues that arise is important. Another observation by court monitors is that it can be difficult for some counties to get the chemical analyst from the state, who is needed for testimony
about the blood draw. These cases then often end up getting dismissed when the state requests a motion to
continue in order subpoena the chemical analyst again for trial. This will be a concern as we see a rise in drugged driving cases that most often require a blood draw and the chemical analysts’ testimony in a trial.
As we look ahead to 2021, we still see capacity limits and restrictions on access to courtrooms due to Covid-19 restrictions. This directly impacts the court monitoring program as in-person courtroom observation is a crucial component of the information collected and in identifying trends in DWI cases. We look forward to continuing to develop and grow our working relationships with key stakeholders to raise awareness about the disposition
of DWI cases and any improvements needed to make the enforcement and prosecution of these cases efficient
and equitable.
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