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DWI Resource Center Report Shows Bernalillo Metro Court
Has 36 Percent DWI Dismissal Rate
For Immediate Release
October 19, 2006Contact:
Linda Atkinson, Executive Director
DWI Resource Center, Inc.
P: (505) 881-1084
C: (505) 301-6652
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Albuquerque, NM – The DWI Resource Center released today its bi-annual report of judicial dismissal and conviction rates for DWI cases in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. The report shows an overall 36 percent dismissal rate for DWI cases appearing in Metro Court between January 2003 and July 2006. However, the dismissal rates for individual judges who have adjudicated approximately the same number of cases varied widely, ranging from the lowest, 20 percent for Judge Frank Gentry, to the highest 51 percent for Judge Victoria Grant.
Although Metro Court has added new judges to the bench to reduce DWI case load, changed the “six month” rule allowing DWI cases to be dismissed for lack of a speedy trial, and instituted rule changes regarding DWI pre-trial hearings, the court’s overall 36 percent dismissal rate shows no improvement over past years. In addition, the high variation in dismissal rates between judges indicates significant use of judicial discretion in DWI case dismissals.
“Each time we publish Metro Court dismissal rates, the Court responds by claiming that most DWI cases are dismissed for reasons over which judges have no control,” said Linda Atkinson, Executive Director of the DWI Resource Center. “The wide variation in dismissal rates between judges on the same court tells a different story. DWI cases are assigned at random to each judge, and each court is using the same pool of arresting officers, prosecutors, and defense lawyers. Judges can make the decision to reschedule rather than dismiss DWI cases in which the arresting officer has not appeared or the prosecution is unprepared to move the case forward. The difference in dismissal rates between Judge Gentry and Judge Grant reflects exactly this use of judicial discretion.”
Judges with the highest dismissal rates include Judge Victoria Grant (51 percent), Judge Michael Kavanaugh (47 percent), Judge Marie Baca (47 percent), Judge Wayne Griego (42 percent), and Judge Kevin Fitzwater (42 percent). Judges with the lowest dismissal rates are Judge Frank Gentry (20 percent), Judge Daniel Ramczyk (22 percent), Judge Charles Barnhart (30 percent), Judge Rosemarie Allred (32 percent) and Judge Loretta Lopez (31 percent).
To be included in the report, judges must have adjudicated a minimum of 100 DWI cases between January 2003 and 2006. The report uses only data reported by Bernalillo County Metro Court to the Motor Vehicle Division of the NM Tax and Revenue Department between January 2003 and July 2006. Bernalillo County Metro Court is required by law to report the disposition of DWI cases to the Motor Vehicle Division within 10 days of entry of final judgment or sentence, dismissal, or higher court decision. MVD’s Citation Tracking Service is made available to the DWI Resource Center by the University of New Mexico’s Division of Government Research. Because of the time period analyzed, some judges included in the report are no longer serving on Metro Court.
In addition to aggregate dismissal data, the Center’s report also includes a breakdown of DWI convictions and dismissals by the defendant’s plea of ‘guilty’, ‘no contest’, or ‘not guilty’. The report shows that of those DWI cases that ended in conviction, overall approximately 87 percent of defendants pled ‘guilty’. However, the numbers for individual judges can be much higher.
“The second most common claim by judges when they are faced with high dismissal rates is that when a case finally does get before a judge, they have a very high conviction rate,” Atkinson said. “That’s true. Why? Because the overwhelming majority of defendants have already pled ‘guilty’ and there is nothing for the judge to do but accept the plea and sentence the offender. This claim by judges that they have high conviction rates is a smokescreen which obscures the larger problem of high DWI dismissals and the fact that DWI kills and injures more people than any other crime committed today.”
The DWI Resource Center encourages all New Mexico citizens to consider the social and economic impact of DWI
on their community and to remember that Metro Court judges are elected officials. In 2004, the most recent year
for which data is available, UNM’s Division of Government Research estimates that DWI cost Bernalillo County
more than $208 million, or $352 per person. Citizens interested in receiving additional information about the
adjudication of DWI cases in Metro Court should contact the DWI Resource Center at (505) 881-1084, or visit
the Center’s website at www.dwiresourcecenter.org to view the complete report.
About the DWI Resource Center
The DWI Resource Center is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 New Mexico organization formed to reduce the social and
economic impact of DWI through public awareness, education, prevention programs and research. The Center
also provides assistance to victims and serves as a central clearinghouse for information on DWI and victims' rights.