[July 29, 2011] Race is on to clear old DUI cases Tweet Jul 27, 2011 (Fort Mill Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- FORT MILL TOWNSHIP -- When it comes to dealing with a drunk driving charge in this area, how fast the case is adjudicated can depend on which jurisdiction is handling the case. The Fort Mill Police Department currently has eight pending DUI cases dating back to March 31, with each scheduled a trial date. As ordered by the Fort Mill Magistrate Court, an additional five backlogged cases will be addressed by Fort Mill police in the coming weeks, with the oldest on record dated October 2010. But this pales in comparison to the number of cases that the Fort Mill Magistrate court and every magistrate court in the state have to contend with. Due to archaic record-keeping and numerous trial delays, a glut of DUI cases throughout the state of South Carolina have become severely backlogged, officials say. York County Solicitor Kevin Brackett said there are approximately 10,000 statewide cases that range in date up to seven years ago, a testament to the growing need for a new system to be put in place to better track potential offenders. "There was no real system in place that efficiently processed the cases in magistrate courts," Brackett said. "The way we've conducted business has been the same for 50 years, and with the wide scale growth the area has experienced, the issue has become a problem the entire state has to contend with." In response to the amount of suspected DUI cases that have accumulated, South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal began an initiative in March to resolve the matter. Setting a timetable of 120 days, Toal permitted the 46 counties comprising the state to begin the process of either outright dismissing the DUI cases on record, or reduce charges to that of "reckless driving" and other traffic misdemeanors. It is all part of an effort to instill a new, $55 million automated "Judicial Management System" in every court in the state, designed to streamline the record-keeping process and bring DUI cases to court in a more expedited manner. The system, and the federal grants needed to fund it took the better part of 10 years for Toal to put together, and it went into effect June of this year. "Simply put, we have to do a better job getting these cases to trial in a much faster, more efficient manner," Toal said. "I can't do anything to cure cases that are old and weren't timely tried; all I can do is make sure this never happens again." "It's not about pointing fingers, it's about cleaning up the mess," said Brackett, who is currently tasked with sifting through approximately 1,000 pending DUI cases in York County. "In order to build the dam you have to drain the swamp, and unfortunately, justice delayed is justice denied." York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant blames the way DUIs have been handled over the past few years for the amount of cases that have been delayed, which led to widespread holding pattern. As it currently stands, all suspected DUI offenders must be read their Constitutional rights on three different occasions, and arresting officers must meet a litany of conditions to effectively get a case to court, including mandatory video proof. Bryant said all this has resulted in defense attorneys being able to successfully delay court proceedings in many a case, which increases the chances of charges being reduced or thrown out altogether. "It sends a bad message to both arresting officers and potential DUI offenders," Bryant said. "Those that drink and drive may have less fear in doing so, while officers on patrol might be weary of putting extended effort into a case that might just get thrown out after a long enough period of time. It's a shame that we live in a country where a drunk driver must be advised his rights more than an individual being tried for homicide." But controversies aside, Toal insists that the initiative to clean up prior DUI cases is necessary to bring about changes, despite running the risk of exonerating those who may potentially become repeat offenders. She believes that the automated tracking system put in place this past June is "a model for the nation" and will prove extremely valuable to South Carolina as its population, and subsequently the number of DUI cases, continues to swell. "They come at us like a fire hose in terms of the enormous volume of these cases we've had to contend with, even since March when I began the DUI initiative," Toal said. "But on a going forward basis, we now have the technology in place to seriously help move these cases forward and that's the good news. We just have to clear the deck on old cases to streamline the new cases coming in everyday." Fort Mill Magistrate Judge David L. Wood declined comment, citing his pending cases. To see more of the Fort Mill Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fortmilltimes.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Fort Mill Times, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]