MADD will monitor DUI cases in Clark County courtrooms
Mothers Against Drunk Driving said it will start sending volunteers and staff into Las Vegas courtrooms to monitor drunk driving cases over the next year.
The organization said its new court monitoring program is funded by a $60,684 grant from the Nevada Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety and will focus on counties with the highest number of impaired driving arrests, including Clark and Washoe counties.
Kathy Beinenstein, program specialist for MADD Southern Nevada, said Nevada is one of 16 states currently involved in the program.
“These court monitors will be MADD’s eyes and ears in the courtroom,” Bienenstein said in a statement. “They will follow cases and document their outcomes to help identify strengths and weaknesses in our justice system.”
Nevada law requires first-time DUI offenders to use ignition interlock for at least a year after their arrests. The device requires drivers to blow into a device that prevents them from starting the car if their blood alcohol content is higher than 0.02 percent.
Jennifer Perez, MADD’s national director of field operations, said strong laws are key in deterring drunk drivers.
“Nevada has laws in place to hold impaired drivers accountable,” Perez said in a statement. “Our mission is to ensure those laws are carried out as intended and advocate for change when we find loopholes or other weaknesses.”
Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.
