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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Ind. Courts - Supplementing "Cass Superior Court Judge rejects traffic violator plea deal"

The ILB had an entry Jan. 12, 2010, quoting a story from the Logansport Pharos-Tribune that began:

A judge has rejected a plea deal in a case involving a Logansport man with a lengthy rap sheet of traffic offenses, including driving while suspended for life.

On Monday, Cass Superior Court II Judge Rick Maughmer said he could not accept terms of an agreement that called for 50-year-old Niger Castro Lopez to spend two years on in-home detention followed by six years of probation. The judge said because of repeated offenses that punishment would be too lenient.

Lopez is facing a charge of operating after lifetime suspension, a class C felony that carries a maximum of eight years in the Indiana Department of Correction.

Today Alicia Gallegos of the South Bend Tribune has a long Sunday story about another case, this one involving drunken driving, headlined "Is legal system tough enough? Man accused of drunken driving, causing officer's death had multiple DUIs on his record, but saw very little punishment." A quote from the story:
Some, such as Dave Beaty, South Bend Fraternal Order of Police president, believe Devine's history is a classic example of a convicted criminal's past never being taken seriously.

"They start to look at the justice system as a joke," Beaty said of habitual offenders. "Ideally, in a better system, you give breaks for maybe first-time offenders. But you can't do it the 10th time. That's not working."

Beaty and others, such as advocates with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, believe the court system is too soft on drunken drivers and that too often it takes causing a serious injury or even death for drivers to face stiffer penalties.

Devine is now charged in connection with last weekend's death of Mishawaka Police Cpl. James Szuba, who was killed when Devine's SUV plowed into his police cruiser during a pursuit. Tests showed Devine's blood alcohol level was almost triple the legal limit.

Advocates say laws in Indiana need to be stricter and more done within courts to keep intoxicated residents from driving.

Court officials argue they only have so much discretion when it comes to the guidelines of Indiana law and a wide range of factors affect charging and sentencing decisions.

Meanwhile, legislation introduced just last week means a new mandated regulation for drunken drivers might be in the works.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 17, 2010 12:08 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts