A Texas county has decided to use social media as a DUI deterrent this holiday season by posting the names of drivers arrested for drunk driving on Twitter. Prosecutors in Montgomery County, Texas have decided to publish the names on Twitter of people arrested for drunk driving between Christmas and New Years. Holy Tweet!
The decision by the Montgomery County, Texas District Attorney's Office to post the names of drivers arrested and charged with drunk driving was made with the hopes that it would get people to think twice about drinking and driving and further supported by the fact that the information (i.e. the names of people arrested and charged with DUI) is public information that can be obtained by anyone.
Warren Diepraam, a prosecutor with the Montgomery County Vehicular Crimes Unit, states that posting the names of people arrested for drunk driving is "not a magic bullet that's going to end DWIs, but its something to make people think twice before they get behind the wheel of a car and drive while they're intoxicated."
However, the idea of Montgomery County, Texas prosecutors posting the names of people arrested for drunk driving on Twitter before these individuals are even convicted of the crime for which they are charged doesn't sit well with everyone as it smacks in the face of the very foundation of our criminal justice system that a person is "innocent until proven guilty."
People are often arrested and charged with crimes before all the evidence is collected, challenged and/or investigated. In the case of DUIs, people are often charged before essential chemical test evidence is analyzed and the results are obtained. Thus, it is entirely possible and almost certain to happen that Montgomery County, Texas prosecutors will post the name(s) of someone on Twitter who has been arrested for drunk driving but is entirely innocent of the charges.
In general, people only see and remember the headlines and often don't wait for details or results before passing judgment. The stigma of being a drunk driver will attach at the moment someone sees the person's name tweeted on Twitter. It appears that whether someone is actually guilty of drunk driving is of little or no concern to Montgomery County, Texas prosecutors and that posting the names of people arrested and charged with drunk driving over the holidays is nothing more than an exercise in public shaming.
Houston criminal defense lawyer, Paul Kennedy, wonders if Montgomery County, Texas prosecutors are also going to be posting public apologies on Twitter to the people who ultimately had their DUI cases dismissed in court or who were found "not guilty" by a jury of their peers?
Mr. Kennedy, I wouldn't hold my breath!
Source: www.pcworld.com
Written by Gabriel Dorman
Los Angeles, California
gabedorman@gmail.com
www.criminaldefenseduilawyer.com/blog/
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