Jan 5, 2017 4 min read

The first defendants facing a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol will be making an appearance this morning before District Judge Curtis Thompson in Washington County’s new DUI Central Court, which was designed to streamline how those cases go through the court system.

“We noticed the adjudication of DUI cases can take eight, nine or 10 months from the time they are charged,” said Patrick Grimm, court administrator for the county. “And that is a long time.”

Grimm said that were about 975 people were charged with drunken driving in 2016, accounting for 25 to 30 percent of the court docket.

Many of the defendants were having their preliminary hearings continued before their cases made it to Common Pleas Court. And once their cases made it to court, adjudication was further delayed because they had not completed the Court Reporting Network evaluation that is required before a plea and sentencing. The CRN evaluation is a screening tool used to determine if the offender must be referred for a more comprehensive drug and alcohol assessment.

“The judge was not getting all of the information needed at the time of sentence,” Grimm said. “It continued to cause the court system to back up more. We’d have to find another day for them to plead and that was adding more pleader days to the docket.”

Grimm said that at DUI Central Court, staff from the adult probation office will be available to help the offenders schedule their evaluations and make arrangements to attend the required Alcohol Safety School, which will now be conducted in-house by the county. The county commissioners recently approved personal service contracts with three instructors for the program. Jon Ridge, the county’s chief adult probation officer, will double as the DUI coordinator for the county.

Offenders are required to attend and complete the 12 1/2-hour school. Ridge said the state’s DUI Association and state Department of Transportation developed the regulations for the school. It covers everything from the effect of alcohol in the body to DUI laws in the state.

“The course will try to re-educate drivers,” Ridge said. “It is an education-based course, as opposed to therapeutic.”

Ridge said that the vast majority of DUI preliminary hearings will be heard at the special court. Exceptions include cases in which the offender is also charged with a felony.

The preliminary hearings will be held in the morning. If the offender chooses not to waive the case to Common Pleas Court, they will return for an afternoon hearing to be held on the next available central court date. The police officer, who will not attend the first hearing date, will be subpoenaed to attend if the second is hearing is scheduled. Grimm expects most offenders will opt to waive their cases.

The court will be held, for the most part, on the first and third Fridays of the month. While the hearings will be held in the office of District Judge Robert Redlinger, 90 W. Chestnut St., the 11 district judges in the county will take turn hearing the cases. Their assignment is based on the weeks they are already on night duty.

District Judge Gary Havelka, president of Washington County Association of Special Court Judges, said the charges will still be filed by police at the local district judge offices.

“Our staff will scan the criminal complaint and send it up,” Havelka said. “We will keep copies of the complaints. We just won’t be holding the hearings at our office.”

A secretary, now working at Redlinger’s office, is specifically assigned to handle the paperwork and scheduling associated with DUI Central Court. A secretary who fills in at the different district judge offices will work on Fridays when DUI court is scheduled to help out.

Havelka expects the system will work well, adding the district judges had input on the scheduling and other changes.

“The first six months may be a little bumpy,” Grimm said. “Some things may not work out as well as thought, but we can make adjustments along the way.”