{
  "id": "2001-novemberdecember-dangerous-drivers",
  "slug": "2001-novemberdecember-dangerous-drivers",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2001-novemberdecember-dangerous-drivers.html",
  "year": 2001,
  "month": "November/December",
  "monthNum": 11,
  "headline": "Dangerous drivers",
  "kicker": "DATABASES",
  "author_name": "David S. Fallis",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "Washington Post",
  "summary": "Investigation into Montgomery County's lenient handling of repeat offenders in drunken driving cases, uncovering systemic prosecutorial lapses.",
  "keywords": [
    "drunk driving",
    "court",
    "leniency"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Crime & Justice",
    "Investigative Methods",
    "Government & Politics"
  ],
  "technologies": [],
  "full_text": "The initial idea was simple: Find out how drunken drivers fared in court. The Post knew that Montgomery County, a District suburb of about 850,000 people, had a reputation among defense lawyers, police, prosecutors, traffic safety advocates, and even drunken drivers as one of the most lenient in Maryland. Ultimately, by layering paper records, electronic records and information gleaned in interviews, the Post was able to reveal a complete picture of the courts at work, finding that drunken drivers often have the upper hand. Those who had killed people in alcohol-related collisions often didn't spend a day behind bars. Drivers with arrests in the double digits often got lighter sentences with each new conviction. Prosecutors sometimes didn't know drivers' full records, leaving those who had killed others to be sentenced as first-time offenders. In examining who was responsible, the Post found prosecutors ignored repeat offender laws and expedited cases through generous plea bargains. Judges were unaware of mandatory jail laws for habitual drunken drivers and failed to distinguish between second-offenders and those with more than 10 arrests. The Post also found that key lawmakers, some of them attorneys who defend drunken drivers, were causing the state to lose millions in federal highway funds every year because of their refusal to crack down on their clients. The reporting began with a request for district court officials to provide us electronic court data, which they refused to do. This led to a decision to sample cases in Montgomery County.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "pre-v2",
    "extracted_at": "",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1995-december-baby-you-cant-drive-my-car",
      "score": 0.245
    },
    {
      "slug": "2002-november-december-mapping-finds-bars-dui-wrecks-linked",
      "score": 0.233
    },
    {
      "slug": "2000-julyaugust-repeat-offenders",
      "score": 0.22
    },
    {
      "slug": "1999-september-tipsheets-on-crime",
      "score": 0.157
    },
    {
      "slug": "2001-januaryfebruary-valuable-accident-data",
      "score": 0.143
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2001-novemberdecember-dangerous-drivers.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2001-novemberdecember-dangerous-drivers.json"
}