Kansas City, MO lawmaker pushes legislation to enable DWI courts in Missouri

Jefferson City, MO

Special courts allowing drunken-driving offenders to reduce their sentences by participating in treatment programs could get a boost this year from the Missouri legislature.

Sen. Jolie Justus, a Kansas City Democrat, added language enabling DWI courts to a larger transportation bill approved last week.

Typically, a repeat or felony drunken-driving case is heard in regular court, where the offender most likely faces jail time. In a DWI court, incarceration is a last resort, imposed only if a treatment program and extensive probation isn’t effective. The courts are similar to existing drug courts, although offenders could not have their crimes removed from their records.

“We want to make sure this isn’t a way to skirt the system, but to really address those folks who have several offenses,” Justus said. “I look at it as a way to help those folks who have serious substance abuse problems.”

The bill won approval in the Senate on Thursday and now moves on to the House for consideration.

As the legislation moves through the process, it could be tweaked to allow DWI courts to function within existing drug courts, Justus said. The change could reduce the cost of implementing the courts. More >>

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