New Clay County treatment court aims to reduce repeat DWIs
Feb. 12—MOORHEAD — A new treatment court in Clay County is gearing up to make roads safer.
In January, the 7th Judicial District started a DWI Court in Clay County, which seeks to reduce the number of people racking up repeated DWI offenses. The voluntary court serves as an alternative to prison time or typical probation for people convicted of a DWI multiple times.
Around one-third of people convicted of a DWI will reoffend, said Clay/Becker Treatment Court Coordinator Kristal Kadrie.
"Our goal really is to reduce that recidivism, which in turn then is safer for the roads, safer for the rest of the community," she said.
Clay County's DWI Court was founded on Jan. 16, funded by a $150,000 Minnesota Department of Public Safety grant. Its first four participants started in February.
The DWI Court is Clay County's newest treatment court. Clay and Becker counties have a joint Drug Court, which started in 2007, and a joint Veterans Treatment Court, which started in 2015.
The DWI Court accepts people who have been convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs multiple times, are at a high risk to reoffend and are diagnosed with a moderate or severe substance abuse disorder. To participate in the Clay County court, a person must live in Clay County.
National statistics for DWI courts show that people who participate in the treatment courts are dramatically less likely to reoffend than those who are sentenced to prison time or standard probation, said District Court Judge Michael Leeser, who presides over the DWI Court.
DWI Court is still a type of probation, he said.
"But this is a higher level of probation — more visits, more testing, more check-ins," Leeser said. "The evidence nationwide is certainly that if the goal really is to make the roads safer, to get these folks to stop driving while impaired, this is the most effective route."
The increased supervision means DWI Court participants receive customized support. When starting in the court, participants have biweekly hearings where their treatment provider, case manager, probation agent and others who work with them check in with a judge. Using each person's perspective, the judge makes the final call on how to adjust a person's treatment to help them maintain stability by addressing factors like trauma, mental health and cravings for drugs or alcohol.
The team of support providers also checks in during the weeks between meetings, Leeser said. Before a hearing, the judge meets with the treatment team to hear how the participant has been doing since the last hearing.
"That's the real benefit, is you get this team of professionals who are dedicated to figuring out solutions for these folks, and I think that's generally why it's such a great success," he said.
The duration of the program depends on the individual, Kadrie said, but tends to be between 15 months to two years. The DWI Court process may even take longer than a prison sentence.
The minimum sentence for a second DWI in 10 years in Minnesota is 30 days of incarceration. A person convicted of five or more DWIs in 10 years faces a minimum of one year of incarceration.
"They're actually taking the harder route, in my opinion, in terms of the work that they're going to do on themselves by being in this program," Kadrie said. "Some people can just go to prison and just do their time, come back and not do all that work. I mean, it really is a lot of work on them and a lot of expectations for them."
Before Leeser was appointed as a district court judge, he worked as the assistant county attorney in Clay County. In that role, he served on the Drug Court team and saw the treatment court process play out.
"The transformation of these folks' lives is nothing short of miraculous, and when you're in the criminal justice world long enough, it's easy to get a little jaded and cynical," Leeser said. "And for me, it was a wonderful reminder that people do change, they can change, and that nobody's beyond redemption and improving themselves."
The Minnesota Judicial Council, the administrative authority for the Minnesota Judicial Branch, has a goal of having treatment courts in every Minnesota county, giving everybody in the state the opportunity to get into a treatment court, Kadrie said.
"Giving that opportunity to people, I think, is a big, big thing," she said.
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