The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "drunk driving convictions" ...
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Unreasonable Doubt
The Globe's team found that when accused drunk drivers waive their right to a jury trial and take their cases before a single judge, they are acquitted four out of five times- an astonishing statewide acquittal rate of 82 percent that is virtually unmatched in the United States. The Globe found that the acquittal rate by judges is 30 percentage points higher than the acquittal rate by juries.
Tags: Drunk driving; judge; jury; acquittal; conviction
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Slippery When Wet; The Runners-up; Bob Castle's Boozy Rap Sheet
Until this Seattle Weekly report, the police and public didn't realize that Robert Castle was the state's DUI King, a chronic hazard who racked up 16 drunk driving convictions and was repeatedly given breaks by the courts and soft time by judges. Documents reviewed by the Seattle Weekly revealed poorly kept records that prevented judges from realizing the full scope of Castle's driving history and his threat to others on the roadways.
Tags: drunk driving; DUI, Seattle; court system; alcohol; repeat offenders
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Fit to Drive?
According to this Dispatch report, "167 school-bus drivers in Ohio have records of drunken driving or drug abuse." The investigation includes a chart of where in Ohio these drivers operate, and also notes the difficulty "for school officials to check backgrounds on drivers or keep those with drunken-driving convictions out of school buses." Individuals with such histories are profiled.The superintendent of the State Highway Patrol is quoted saying that as someone who has arrested drunken drivers, "I would never want any of these people driving a bus."
Tags: buses; drunk driving; drunk driving convictions; background checks; Ohio bus drivers; school buses
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Beating the Rap
This investigation revealed the corrupt and unfair way that Iowa's county prosecutors handle traffic violations. The reporter found that speeding convictions were often set aside and replaced with fictitious "equipment violations" that brought in more money to the department and let the drivers stay on the road. Some charges were downgraded when the drivers agreed to donate money to local police or local charities. These stories raised many legal and safety issues and prompted radical reform.
Tags: speeding; drunk driving; DUI; DWI; car insurance; sheriff; county prosecutor; bribery; corruption
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DWI: Sobering Acquittals; DWI Dismissals: Wrecked Lives; Underage Drinking and Driving: Guilty? Yes. Punished? No.
These stories reveal that North Carolina judges pardoned more than a third of those charged with drunken driving. Using databases from the courts and state alcohol test records, the reporters show how many drunk drivers were acquitted in court and returned to the roads to maim and kill yet more victims. Young drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 were acquitted and their licences were not revoked. Especially in the coastal counties of Carteret, Craven and Pamlico, the conviction rate is less than 15 percent.
Tags: drunk driving; drinking and driving; North Carolina judges; Carteret County; Craven County; Pamlico County; Wake County; North Carolina counties; NC convictions for drinking and driving
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Solie's prior DWI conviction in Vermont
After the president of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly was convicted of driving under the influence as a first-time offender, the Sun Star uncovered that Rick Solie had indeed been previously convicted of DWI in another state, something both the prosecutor and judge in the case had been unaware of. When open records requests were denied, the paper also filed a lawsuit to gain access to Solie's arrest records.
Tags: DWI; DUI; drunk; drunken; driving; official; prosecution; lawsuit; offender; arrest; law; legal; public records; FOIA
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First in Flight, but last in mercy
The Baltimore Sun reports on the trial of Melissa Marvin, a 30-year who killed four while driving drunk in Kitty Hawk, N.C. Marvin was charged with murder, in addition to driving while intoxicated. Marvin was convicted of four counts of second-degree murder and one count of "assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury" and sentenced to 60 years in prison without parole. Sjoerdsma, a attorney/mediator and freelance journalist writes that "by grafting murder law onto DWI cases, North Carolina may be running roughshod over traditional notions of justice."
Tags: DWI; murder; North Carolina; alcohol; Melissa Marvin; justice; legal system; courts; crime
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Drunks Driving
KENS-TV reports on "convicted drunk drivers who (the station) caught leaving the probation office and getting behind the wheel."
Tags: drunk driving; DUI; DWI; probation; crime; law enforcement; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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Getting away with DWI
A Buffalo News investigation shows 75 percent of drunken-driving defendants in Erie County receive lesser convictions because judges and prosecutors are lenient for first-time offenders and because some judges do not accept the results of a new-generation Breathalyzer.
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Justice Not served
WITI-TV reports on a breakdown in Milwaukee County's criminal justice system, which has allowed thousands of convicted criminals to escape their court-ordered punishments in the last decade. The investigation began when WITI reporters came across a number of court files that were missing the so-called "fine and cost commitment," an important part of the paperwork. Clerical errors and staffing shortages caused for the county to lose millions of dollars in uncollected fine revenue. County officials have been aware of the problem for years but did nothing to fix it. Meanwhile, thousands of drunk drivers, drug dealers, and even attempted murderers served no jail time.
Tags: courts; judges; crime; police; drunk driving; arrests; computers; software; court filing system