Drink Drive Bad.
Posted on Sun, Dec. 19, 2004 in The Charlotte Observer
Guilty? Yes. Punished? No.
Young drinkers often avoid penalties
LIZ CHANDLER AND LISA HAMMERSLY MUNN
Staff Writers
They're under 21. They're not supposed to drink alcohol at all. Then they get behind a wheel. Each year in North Carolina, about 4,000 youths who get caught drinking and driving don't get punished by the courts. And some of the best odds for getting off are in Mecklenburg County.
Nearly six in 10 young people charged with drinking and driving in Mecklenburg County aren't punished in court.
That's the second lowest punishment rate in North Carolina.
Young drivers walk away when prosecutors dismiss their cases or judges give them a break -- even when they plead guilty.
They are society's highest-risk drivers, ages 16 to 20, with little experience behind the wheel. Crashes fueled by alcohol and speed are their No. 1 killers.
State law bars them from drinking at all. Yet many, like 18-year-old Joey Houck, dodge penalties that would have taken away their driver's license.
Sometimes the consequences are fatal.
Houck was weaving on Charlotte's Independence Boulevard when police stopped him. He admitted downing two rum drinks, police said. He pleaded guilty to the state's tough underage drinking-and-driving law.
But in January 2003, a judge followed standard practice in Mecklenburg courts: He gave the Waxhaw youth a break that withheld punishment and allowed him to keep his license.
Six months later, Houck drank and drove again. This time, he was drunk and speeding near the airport when his pickup hit a culvert, flew and slid 68 feet, according to police and medical reports.
Houck and a friend, 21-year-old Derrick Keith, were killed.
Keith's mother didn't know Houck had been guilty earlier of drinking and driving until she was interviewed for this article.
"I feel like screaming," said Sarah Keith, also of Waxhaw. "He really shouldn't have had a license. He shouldn't have been driving. Aren't there laws about that?"
When young people make mistakes, society tends to forgive all but the most egregious as part of growing up. Second chances are common from the classroom to the courtroom.
But statistics, experts and even young offenders suggest that leniency toward youthful drinking and driving can go too far. Low punishment rates undermine the law, experts say, and send the wrong message to kids.
The Observer reviewed more than 50,000 drinking-and-driving cases statewide between 1999 and early 2004, all involving drivers under 21.
About 60 percent, or 30,500 young drivers, were convicted and punished. They lost their license for at least a year. A tiny fraction, about 800, were found not guilty at trials.
The rest -- about 19,000 young people statewide -- walked away unpunished.
The Observer study also found:
• Mecklenburg punishes just 41 percent of young drivers charged, far below the state average.
• Punishment is wildly inconsistent statewide. Asheville punishes 80 percent of young drivers; Fayetteville 30 percent. Six counties touching Mecklenburg punish more than 70 percent.
• Mecklenburg is particularly lenient toward young drivers with relatively low alcohol levels. About 80 percent weren't punished.
"Swift and certain punishment is what gets people's attention -- and that's not happening," said Barbara Alvarez Martin, a public health researcher at Wake Forest University's School of Medicine. "Kids are so savvy. They know what they can get away with."
Case dismissals are one major way young drivers slip through Mecklenburg courts, just as adults do. Prosecutors dismiss their charges mostly because witnesses or arresting officers fail to appear in court.
Young drivers also take an avenue open only to those under 21. If their case qualifies, they plead guilty, seek alcohol education or treatment -- then persuade a judge to withhold punishment.
The deal is called a prayer for judgment continued (PJC). It allows young drivers to avoid the penalty they fear most: Losing their driver's license for a year.
With so many youths going unpunished, experts say the courts are one more institution sending mixed messages about drinking and driving.
Like many cities, Charlotte has heavy drinking at tailgate parties, festivals and concerts. TV commercials glamorize beer. Some parents allow teen drinking parties at home. And surveys show one in five students in Mecklenburg's middle and high schools drink alcohol.
Last week, a North Mecklenburg High wrestler died after drinking at a friend's home. More than a dozen drivers under 21 were arrested for drinking and driving at Charlotte checkpoints.
"The legislature has adopted a zero-tolerance law ... but they're the only ones who have. Parents haven't bought into it. The community hasn't bought into it. The judicial system hasn't bought into it," says Sheryl Findlan of Charlotte's Substance Abuse Prevention Services.
The Observer's study examined youths charged with driving while impaired, which usually involves illegal alcohol levels of 0.08 percent or higher.
The study also looked at those charged with driving after consuming alcohol, which prohibits people under 21 from driving with any alcohol in their bodies.
In Mecklenburg, the study found 3,755 young people were charged with breaking either or both laws. Of those, about 2,200 young people went unpunished.
"That's a lot of young people getting off," said Becky Blackwell, who's on the governor's task force to toughen North Carolina's drinking-and-driving laws. "If you don't give them some consequences for their actions at this age, what's going to happen when they get older? They're going to think they can beat it."
Mecklenburg's Chief District Judge Fritz Mercer isn't sure what to think about so many young drivers avoiding punishment in his county.
He and other court officials weren't aware of their record until informed by the Observer.
Asked if it's appropriate that almost six in 10 avoid punishment, Mercer said: "I don't know."
Asked if kids are getting the message that drinking and driving is unacceptable, Mercer said again: "I don't know."
Getting breaks in court
About half of the 2,200 young drivers who weren't punished in Mecklenburg got their cases dismissed by prosecutors.Dismissals happen in all age groups for many reasons, as the Observer reported in a series last month. It's not usually for lack of evidence. Often, key witnesses don't appear in court because of scheduling problems and other glitches in the system.
"We prosecute every underage drinking and driving case we think we can win," said Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist.
His office dismissed cases at about the same rate as the state average. But Gilchrist says he wants to fix scheduling problems to reduce dismissals.
The other half of drivers who got off in Mecklenburg persuaded judges to give them a reprieve, known as a prayer for judgment continued.
The law allows PJCs for driving-after-consuming charges, but not DWI.
To get a PJC, a defendant pleads guilty and the judge withholds punishment. Many judges first require an evaluation for alcohol problems, plus education or treatment.
Judges who favor PJCs say that's usually enough to keep most young people from drinking and driving again.
"I don't see many second-time offenders," said Mecklenburg District Judge Hugh Lewis. But that impression comes only from courtroom experience, and he and others wish they had solid research.
It's unclear how many young drivers repeat their behavior. The Observer found at least one in seven young people charged in Mecklenburg was stopped again for drinking and driving over five years. But studies show people who drink and drive do so dozens of times before they're caught.
Research also shows a driver's abilities can be diminished at alcohol levels as low as 0.02. That's especially true for novice drivers.
No county gave PJCs at a higher rate than Mecklenburg except Pitt, home to Greenville in Eastern North Carolina.
The Observer study also found that youths from higher-income families got PJCs more often than the low-income. That's because they can afford lawyers to help minimize punishment, experts say.
{This next part makes me sick}
Chief District Judge Mercer says PJCs fit his goal of education and treatment. He doesn't want to stain a youth's record with a conviction that could hinder getting into college or landing a job.
At sentencing, he considers the defendant's age, attitude, alcohol level and details of the offense. Mercer also relies on parents to punish their children and on insurance companies to hike rates.
"When I see they've completed their tasks -- like alcohol classes and community service -- I usually just PJC it," said Mercer. "I've given out a heck of a lot of them."
But Sarah Keith, whose son died with a driver who got a PJC, sees it differently.
"I'd like to send the judges a funeral notice that will show what a prayer for judgment can do," she said. "Sometimes you have to hit youngsters in the head. You have to show them what can happen."
Otherwise, she says, "You got scolded but you didn't get punished. Are you going to do it again? Yes you are."
Striking a deal, again and again
Some drivers get more than second chances -- they get three, four or more breaks in court.
And some repeat offenders are never punished.
A Davidson resident was stopped three times before age 21 and slipped through Mecklenburg courts in different ways each time.
On the first stop, in 2002, he was 19 when police pulled him over for burning rubber in heavy Huntersville traffic. His alcohol level was 0.06.
In court, the teen struck a deal: Prosecutors dropped the alcohol charge in exchange for his guilty plea to reckless driving -- then a judge gave him a PJC.
A year later, the youth was stopped again in Huntersville. He pleaded guilty to driving after consuming. And he got another PJC.
Mecklenburg judges frequently don't see driving or criminal histories for people facing driving-after-consuming charges. So they don't know whether a defendant has a clean record or has already gotten deals in court.
In this case, the youth got a third break -- even with two prior PJCs.
Police stopped him in Davidson. He couldn't recite the alphabet or count to 15, they said. His alcohol breath test was 0.10, and he was charged with driving while impaired.
At trial, the arresting officer didn't show up. He had resigned from the force and because his testimony was crucial, prosecutors dismissed charges.
Now 21, the young man says he quit drinking and driving and works for a construction company. He asked not to be named for fear of losing his job. The Observer verified the facts of his case through court records.
Looking back, the young man says the courts should have been tougher. He and his friends repeatedly drank and drove.
"We thought we kept it under control ... You don't think about the consequences."
A conviction that yanked his license would have made him pay attention, he says. "Truthfully, I might have stopped drinking altogether."
Drinking as a way of life
Teens live in an alcohol-soaked culture, experts say.Use of most drugs is down among middle and high school students in Mecklenburg. But drinking -- especially binge drinking -- is alarmingly high, say prevention specialists.
Almost one in five students reported they tried binge drinking at least once, according to one recent survey. And one in 10 said they binged at least monthly. White youths report a much higher rate of alcohol use than minorities.
It's easy for kids to get alcohol. One place they drink is at house parties when adults are away -- or when adults are home and allow drinking to take place. Parents may not endorse youth drinking but tell themselves: "At least I know where they are. Or at least they're not in a car," says prevention expert Findlan.
There should be no negotiation of any under-21 drinking, says abuse educator Joanne Jenkins.
But too often, she says: "The alarm doesn't go off until the teenager is lying dead in the car. Then the candles are lit, the kids do their mourning and it goes away until the next time."
Drinking as a way of death
The problem shook Charlotte on July 17, when two youths died in separate alcohol-related crashes.
James Cippoletti, 17, who graduated from Weddington High School just a few weeks earlier, went out drinking with nine friends, authorities said.
They got served at the Wild Wing Cafe in Pineville. He was headed home alone about 3 a.m. when his car ran off Providence Road in Union County and hit a tree, killing him.
"It's a life sentence. Your heart is broken and it will never be repaired," said Cippoletti's father, Joe. His son made A's and B's, loved the New York Yankees and charmed people with his dry wit.
That same morning, about 3:20 a.m., an SUV carrying four teenage boys left a Charlotte house party. The driver, 19-year-old Christian Kingery, lost control on Sharon View Road and his SUV rolled over, according to police.
Christopher Rice, 19, a Charlotte Country Day School graduate, was thrown from the back seat and killed.
Kingery has been charged with DWI and investigators are considering additional charges.
None of the teens involved in the two wrecks had previous drinking-and-driving charges -- but there were red flags.
The Observer found that four of the five teens -- excluding Rice -- had been cited for alcohol violations.
Experts say alcohol possession and underage drinking signal risky choices that might escalate into drinking and driving.
Cippoletti was charged in 2003 with being intoxicated and disruptive in his high school parking lot, court records show. A Union County judge granted him a PJC.
In the other accident, driver Kingery and passenger Clay Slaughter, 19, had been charged in 2003 with underage possession of beer or wine. Both charges were dismissed after they performed 24 hours of community service.
Passenger Hunter Dawkins, also 19, was ticketed in late 2002 for trying to buy alcohol with a false I.D. in Boone, records show. He could have lost his driver's license for a year, but he, too, did community service and got his charge dismissed.
Most of the teens' families declined to be interviewed for this story.
But Christopher Rice's father wants people to understand how families are forever devastated by drunken driving. His family struggles every day to cope with what happened.
Chris was home for the summer, working at a law firm and practicing golf in hopes of making his college team. He'd just finished his freshman year at the University of South Carolina, where he'd been accepted into Sigma Chi.
To pledge the fraternity, Chris had to spend much of his first college year acting as a designated driver for brothers who were too drunk to drive.
"No words can describe our loss," says Chris' father, Henry, a Charlotte chiropractor. "There's a constant heaviness in the chest, and at times you have difficulty breathing. It's just a deep, deep heartache ...
"What I hope people realize is that there are real people attached to these tragedies ... If the judicial system does not act in these cases, we'll never stop the horrible consequences."
-- STAFF WRITERS TED MELLNIK AND AMES ALEXANDER CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE.
-- LIZ CHANDLER (704) 358-5063 LISA HAMMERSLY MUNN (704) 358-5886Like I give a damn about whether their records get stained or not. It's their own fault. Pffft.