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"This program is
rehabilitative as opposed to punitive, and empowers people rather
than punishes them"
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A new program in Mower County
helps drivers with revoked or suspended licenses regain their
driving privileges and stay out of court. The License Return
Program helps motorists regain their licenses while under court
supervision.
A driver's license is an absolute necessity for most Minnesotans.
We need our driver's licenses to get to work, to transport children,
and to travel. In many communities, there is no public transportation.
Businesses are often near the outskirts of town and not within
walking distance.
Numerous crimes in the state of Minnesota can result in the loss
of one's driver's license privileges. These include, but are
not limited to, Driving after Suspension (DAS)( Minn. Stat. ¤
171.24, subd. 1), Driving after Revocation (DAR)( Minn. Stat.
¤ 171.24, subd. 2), and Driving after Cancellation (DAC)(
Minn. Stat. ¤ 171.24, subd. 3). Moreover, driving privileges
may be revoked for nonpayment of fines.
In southern Minnesota, we have seen a recent influx of new residents
from Texas and Latin America. Often, these people relocate to
work in this area. Some leave their communities with unpaid fines
or no valid driver's license. For such drivers, a routine traffic
stop may result in a criminal charge for driving after suspension,
cancellation, or revocation. If convicted, the driver has his
or her license revoked for an additional 60 days. This begins,
or continues, a self-defeating cycle.
State district courts regularly see people charged with these
driving offenses. Once convicted, the driver/defendant is responsible
for seeing that her license is reinstated. Defendants do not
always follow through with this step, often because they don't
understand how to reinstate driving privileges.
Sometimes the act that led to the revocation or suspension of
one's driving privileges was not a major offense. It may have
been an unpaid fine. Misdemeanors are punishable by a fine of
up to $1,000.00, 90 days of jail, or both. However, some judges,
prosecutors and defense attorneys, seeing that some of these
crimes are victimless crimes, are inclined to be lenient when
the circumstances warrant. After all, to survive and prosper
in our society, it is necessary to use an automobile.
LICENSE RETURN PROGRAM
With these considerations in mind, the Corrections Department
of the Mower County Court System instituted the License Return
Program. The program works as follows: once a driver is ticketed
with a charge that would result in license suspension or revocation,
she is brought before the court for an arraignment. At the hearing,
the court and the prosecutor can review the driving record of
the offender and refer her to the program. Thomas J. Neilon,
director of the Mower County Corrections Office, finds out what
the driver needs to do to obtain a valid Minnesota license. He
checks state records to see what needs to be done and the driver
arranges to follow up. Sentencing is set for a future date. If
the offender has valid driving privileges at the time she returns
to court, there may be a stay of adjudication on the offense.
When there is a stay of adjudication, the criminal conviction
does not enter and the offender's driving privileges are not
suspended, though she may pay some court costs.
This program is Neilon's brainchild. "Society does not benefit
from having people continue without driver's licenses,"
says Neilon. "This program is rehabilitative as opposed
to punitive, and empowers people rather than punishes them."
A stay of adjudication is typically considered a "good deal"
by persons practicing criminal law. Courts may stay adjudication
if "special circumstances" existing warranting this
"unusual judicial measure". State v. Krotzer,
548 N.W.2d 252, 254-55 (Minn. 1996). Minnesota case law indicates
judges may permit stays of adjudication over the prosecutor's
objection, "sparingly and only for the purpose of avoiding
an injustice resulting from the prosecutor's clear abuse of discretion
in the exercise of the charging function". State v. Foss,
556 N.W.2d 540, 541 (Minn. 1996).
Critics suggest stays of adjudication should not be solely in
the discretion of the courts. "It is the prosecutor who
decides what to charge. It should not be within the court's purview
to order stays absent special circumstances and the agreement
of the prosecutor," argues Karyn McBride, assistant Freeborn
County attorney. Nevertheless, a program modeled after the Mower
County program is in place in Freeborn County. Any corrections
office which utilizes such a program must be prepared to allocate
additional resources to serve clients seeking reinstatement of
their driving privileges.
Neilon touts the following statistics:
Total number of participants since 01/01/99: 348
Pending for sentencing: 29
Cases Completed: 319
with valid drivers license: 252 (79%)
failed to comply with program: 33 ( 10.5%)
Time to complete has elapsed: 26 ( 8%)
(suspension time not yet completed or out of state suspension
period must be completed before reinstatement.)
new offense while in program: 8 ( 2.5%)
Judge Donald E. Rysavy of Austin indicates that before the
program began two years ago, nearly 20 percent of the Mower County
misdemeanor cases were DAC, DAR or DAS cases. Many offenders
were jailed, then released without valid licenses. Some first-time
offenders were unaware their licenses were suspended until they
were caught again. Others could not pay their fine without driving
to work, which got them back in court again.
"It is appropriate for judges to have the ability to enter
stays of adjudication in certain cases," says Judge Rysavy.
"There are cases, however, where fines and/or jail are the
appropriate sanction." Rysavy is pleased with the program
because it addresses the reason offenders are in court, and attempts
to correct the situation.
PROGRAM PROGNOSIS
There is no doubt that some offenders will continue to serve
jail time for these offenses. The benefits of the program are:
more drivers with valid licenses, people able to get auto insurance,
and fewer cases filed by prosecutors. Best of all, people are
able to drive legally and not get involved in a downward spiral
of one driver's license offense after another. The downside is
the potential for interfering with prosecutorial discretion and,
in effect, modifying the statute in the courts as some counties
may be more open to the idea than others.
State Representative Rob Leighton (District 27B) has introduced
a bill in the Minnesota State Legislature for the 2001 session
based upon the license return program. "I salute Tom Neilon
for having the vision to start the program in Mower County,"
he said. "It is a model of what should be done statewide:
helping people help themselves. I am happy to introduce a bill
that will benefit new residents, reduce the number of charges,
and decrease the numbers in jails. This is a win-win situation."
Leighton's bill would allow drivers only one chance at a stay
of adjudication for these driving offenses.
Nevertheless, as Minnesota changes, it will be more and more
necessary to try to work with people to help them get their driver's
licenses back. Often, misdemeanants appear at arraignments without
counsel and without even a prosecutor present. The decision to
allow stays of adjudication without the consent of the prosecutor,
however, is dependent upon the cooperation of the courts, prosecutors,
corrections officers, public defenders, and offenders. An amendment
to the law permitting stays of adjudication in certain instances
could allow judges to correct the self-defeating behavior engaged
in by some drivers. The Minnesota State Legislature will have
the opportunity to pass on the idea this year. |
LEE A. BJORNDAL is an attorney
with the law firm of Baudler Baudler Maus & Blahnik in Austin,
Minnesota, concentrating his practice in litigation and municipal
law. He is a 1991 graduate of the Hamline University School of
Law, regular contributor to Bench & Bar, and City
Attorney for the City of Spring Valley, Minnesota. |
