STATE: A $3.3 million grant aims to raise the conviction rate and lower alcohol-related deaths.


A years-long increase in California traffic deaths from drunken-driving accidents spurred a $3.3 million statewide campaign to reverse the trend, top prosecutors from Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties announced Tuesday.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas left, and Riverside District Attorney-elect Rod Pacheco unveil a campaign Tuesday against drunken driving called "Make it Home for the Holidays." Traffic deaths from alcohol-related accidents in California hit 1,719 in 2005, accounting for 40 percent of all traffic-related fatalities, the California District Attorneys Association says.
The money, in the form of a grant worth more than $3.3 million, will be used to train prosecutors to more effectively handle driving-under-the-influence cases, Riverside County District Attorney-elect Rod Pacheco said Tuesday.

DUI cases have their own language and expert witnesses, he said.

"On the top of it, most of the time you have newer deputy district attorneys handling those cases, and they need more training and they need more experience," Pacheco said.

Traffic deaths from alcohol-related accidents in California hit 1,719 in 2005, accounting for 40 percent of all traffic-related fatalities, the California District Attorneys Association said.

Recent annual reports from the state Department of Motor Vehicles took note of the rise. The upward trend started in 1999, after more than a decade of continuous decline, the reports note.

The announcement of the grant program was presented as "Make It Home for the Holidays," tying the enforcement effort to the season of social drinking and driving to parties. The three-year program itself is in the fledgling stage, with its five regional traffic-safety-resource prosecutors not yet hired.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos said there has been an increase of driving-under-the-influence cases along with the Inland area's population increase.


Riverside District Attorney-elect Rod Pacheco, left, and San Bernardino District Attorney Mike Ramos say the "Make it Home for the Holidays" program will save lives.
"We have that traffic that goes to Las Vegas ... and that is a huge problem," Ramos said. "People are going there to party, they're coming back from partying, so we really want to crack down in that area."

The most recent statistics in a 2006 DMV report shows Riverside County with a 2003 DUI conviction rate of 86.6 percent, including 7,195 misdemeanors and 227 felonies. San Bernardino's rate was 73.5 percent, with 8,094 misdemeanors and 339 felonies.

The grant's goal is to reach an overall DUI conviction rate of more than 77 percent.

A first misdemeanor DUI conviction can result in a jail sentence and a fine of up to $1,000. Offenders also face suspension or revocation of their driver's license that is independent of the court-imposed penalties.

One of the plans for the grant money is to employ "vertical prosecution" -- using the same deputy district attorney to follow certain types of DUI cases all the way through the system.

Typically, several prosecutors handle cases through the courts.

A DUI defense attorney said the high-volume courts in Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties make that part of the plan seem impossible.

"Logistically, it's not going to work," said Craig Sturm, a managing attorney with the Riverside office of The Kavinoky Law Firm. "It is obviously a waste of resources."

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas suggested that the new campaign has a larger purpose.

"Things will really change when we have a cultural change, when people get the picture that driving under the influence is not acceptable," he said.

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