Senate passes plea plan for DUIs

Lock 'em up and throw away the key? Or rehabilitate them?

When it comes to drunken drivers, Sen. Carlene Walker says she has typically leaned toward the former. But now she is the sponsor of SB20, which passed the Senate unanimously on Thursday, that would allow prosecutors to use "pleas in abeyance" to force offenders to complete court-ordered rehabilitation.

"Treatment and education are what really works in changing the behavior of drunk drivers," Walker said. "We still have the provisions to put them in jail and all the things we are doing now. This just encourages the use of DUI courts and plea in abeyance for DUI purposes. That is what really works."

Most of the stipulations require the DUI offenders to pay for the treatment program, submit to monitoring and blood tests and attend counseling. A plea in abeyance means the offender's guilty plea is put on hold until he or she completes whatever requirements the court orders.

The drunken driving charge can essentially be dismissed in exchange for completing a supervised treatment program.

Utah prosecutors have some misgivings about the program, worrying that it could become a "free pass" for DUI offenders.

Walker added several provisions to the legislation to address prosecutors' concerns, including one that felony or Class A misdemeanor DUI cases — the most serious of all — cannot be pleaded at all. Most DUIs are Class B misdemeanors.

The Senate passed the bill with no debate. During floor action earlier this week, Walker told senators that jail time and fines are appropriate policy responses to DUI, but they do little to stop repeat offenders.

But the DUI courts, which use education and treatment, have had dramatic effects on recidivism, even when the offenders do not enter the programs voluntarily.

For those who do fall off the wagon, the original DUI charge is reinstated.

"We don't want to have the DUI drivers getting a lower punishment and then not popping up on the record when they come back a second time," said Senate Majority Leader Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville.

Walker has been fighting on Capitol Hill for tougher DUI laws the past four years, and she said this has been one of her toughest fights.

Lawmakers want to see if the program really works, and they will revisit the issue in 2006 when the law expires. The bill now goes to the House.

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E-mail: spang@desnews.com