Public Engagement

I've just learned about a remarkable example of public engagement from the Law School at the University of Minnesota: the Minnesota Criminal Justice System DWI Task Force. Its founder (24 years ago) and director is Steve Simon, Clinical Professor in the Law School. The following information comes from Prof. Simon.

The Task Force, which meets at the Law School, is made up of criminal justice system professionals: judges, police officers, driver's license administrators, traffic safety professionals, assistant attorney generals, prosecutors, chemical dependency treatment workers and MADD and other traffic safety advocates. They identify problems in Minnesota DWI law and enforcement practices and work with the legislature, law enforcement and the courts to effect change. This is a volunteer, unpaid effort on the part of Prof. Simon and his colleagues; the Law School simply provides meeting space and some assistance with photocopying.

The research projects of the Task Force include:

• An analysis of alcohol related fatalities to determine the extent of the involvement of repeat DWI offenders in such fatalities.
  
• An analysis of the public dollars expended by all levels of government because of excessive alcohol consumption.
  
• A multi-variate analysis of county level data that included alcohol related fatalities, DWI arrests, population, number of liquor sales outlets and dollar amount of alcohol sold.
  
• A review of all states reinstatement fees for driver’s licenses revoked for DWI.
  
• An attempt to determine the number and or percent of DWI cases that are “lostâ€? in the criminal justice system.
  
• Gathering sentencing and representation data from a control group generated from a 25,000 person DWI offender data base created to investigate the relationship if any between speed of adjudication of a person charged with DWI and subsequent recidivism.
  
• The search to identify the existence of any state law in this country that mandates the reporting (to law enforcement) of alcohol related traffic injuries by emergency room personnel.

According to Prof. Simon, the Task Force is well respected at the legislature and has initiated many novel changes in Minnesota's DWI law, some of which have become models for the other state's DWI laws. Task Force initiated DWI laws include:

• Criminalizing implied consent test refusals,
  
• Administrative plate impoundment,
  
• Intensive Probation programs for repeat offenders,
  
• Enhanced penalties for drivers license violations for repeat DWO offenders,
  
• Administrative vehicle forfeiture for repeat offenders,
  
• Tightening vehicle transfers and registration to make it more difficult for repeat offenders to acquire vehicles
  
• Development of a secure Web site that prosecutors can use to quickly obtain blood and urine Implied Consent test results.
  
• Expansion of the mandatory chemical dependency assessment provisions of Minnesota’s DWI law to include a consideration of objective factors in the assessment process
  
• Expansion of the DWI-Drug provisions of the DWI to include the metabolites of controlled substances
  
• Numerous technical correction in the DWI law to increase its effectiveness and clarity

As Prof. Simon says, "The Task Force represents a unique combination of University faculty and institutional commitment and expertise with criminal justice system and members of the public. The Law School serves as a catalyst to bring together members of the criminal justice system, driver’s license regulators and concerned citizens from the general public. It existence for over 20 years is a strong indication of its perceived value by the legislature and the people who continue to support it by their participation."