Driving Drunk? Calaveras DA will get you convicted!

   According to a press release by the Calaveras District Attorney's office, those arrested for DUI in Calaveras County, especially repeat offenders and those involved in fatal or injury crashes, can expect to face highly trained, specialized prosecutors, thanks to a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

   The $160,000 grant to the Calaveras County District Attorney's Office will fun a Vertical Prosecution team that will work cases from arrest through sentencing.

   "I am extremely excited about the grant because it will give us the opportunity to make our roads safer through enhanced prosecution and prevention," said Barbara Yook, Calaveras County District Attorney.

   "Drug impaired driving cases are particularly challenging because there is no numerical legal limit of intoxication as there is with alcohol.

    Our new 'Reduce Impaired Driving' (RID) team will bring expertise to these cases and also work on prevention through community education and outreach, specifically educating young future drivers." Yook said.

    The new prosecution team will handle cases throughout each step of the criminal process, prosecuting both alcohol and drug-impaired driving cases.
   In fatal  and major injury DUI vehicle collisions, members of the team may even start by going to the crash scene to be part of the investigation.

    Prosecution team members will work with the State's Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Program to increas the capabilities of the team and the office by obtaining and delivering specialized training, including  training in the emerging problem of drug-impaired driving.

   Team members will share information with peers and law enforcement personnel throughout the county and across the state.

   The purpose of the program is to prevent impaired driving and reduce alcohol and drug-impaired traffic fatalities and injuries.

   In 2010 there were 304 DUI arrests in the county, of those 56 resulted in death and or serious injury.

   "DUI can be a violent, tragic crime," said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety.

   "This special team will help insure that no one falls through the crachs, and that the worst-of-the-worst offenders face a highly skilled dedicated prosecutor."

   Funding for the program, according to the DA's office comes from a frant by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.