Forsyth County court officials are adding a DWI court and streamlining the way DWI cases are handled in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
That ruling requires crime lab analysts to testify about results in drug and DWI cases. Before the ruling, prosecutors would simply introduce affidavits from the analysts. The requirement has led to a backlog.
"I've got cases where my clients had to come to court 10 or 11 times and then be told it can't be reached," said Clarke Dummit, a local lawyer who regularly defends people charged with DWI. "You have to miss work for 10 days and it's not fair."
The Supreme Court ruling and the resulting backlog have led Forsyth County officials to come up with ways to better handle DWI cases.
Traffic cases, including DWIs, are usually handled in Forsyth District Court, where 200 to 250 cases a day can be heard. People either enter a plea to such charges as speeding, continue their case to another court date or decide on a lawyer. But sometimes, there are trials, and DWI cases are increasingly becoming the most complicated to try, court officials said.
And with a heavy caseload, there's not much time to try them, leading to the backlog.
"It used to be that traffic court was over before lunch," said Judge Chester Davis of Forsyth District Court.
Not anymore, he said. Often, traffic court isn't over before 5 p.m.
"If all you do is check to see if people have an attorney or continuing cases, that takes you into the afternoon," he said.
DWI trials have gotten more complicated because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. In that case, Luis Melendez-Diaz appealed his conviction on charges that he sold cocaine, said Ron Wright, a professor of law at Wake Forest University.
Melendez-Diaz argued that prosecutors shouldn't have been allowed to introduce crime-lab results without his being able to cross-examine the analysts who conducted the tests.
And the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, agreed with Melendez-Diaz. Because of that decision, Wright said, prosecutors in drug and DWI cases have to have the analysts from the crime lab come to court and be prepared to testify.
That has made prosecuting DWI cases a lot more expensive and time-consuming, Wright said.
A committee led by Davis was formed to look at the issue. Also on the committee were Dummit and other defense attorneys, representatives from the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office and the Forsyth County Clerk of Court office.
Davis said the committee recommended ways to keep DWI cases from appearing so many times on the docket.
Chief District Judge William Reingold issued an order saying that people charged with DWI will have their first appearance 10 days after the charge is filed. The officer doesn't have to appear.
Twenty days after the first appearance, the defendant or his attorney will sign a DWI evidence disclosure form to ensure the defendant has gotten all discovery in the case. And the next court date will be 50 to 80 days after their first appearance.
The case could still be continued, but Davis said the changes will cut down on the number of times DWI cases appear on the docket and allow DWI cases to be handled more efficiently. Kernersville courts are exempted from the changes because they didn't have a problem with pending DWI cases, Davis said.
Also, a separate DWI court will begin this month that will focus on cutting down the backlog. The court will deal with about 20 cases.
District Attorney Jim O'Neill called the Supreme Court decision a drain on ever-shrinking resources. He said he is applying for a grant from the Governor's Crime Commission to hire a prosecutor to handle DWI cases.
Other counties, such as Wake and Columbus, have DWI courts, said Ike Avery, the traffic safety resource prosecutor for the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys.
Dummit said he supports the changes but a bigger problem is the lack of resources and Forsyth County prosecutors' unwillingness to reduce DWI charges.
"There's no reason to plead guilty," he said. "You ought to be able to challenge the system and have your day in court."
But O'Neill said the DA's office is responsible for the safety of the community.
"Drunk driving is one of those we take very seriously and we want the message to be clear that if you get caught drunk driving, we're going to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."
mhewlett@wsjournal.com
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