Libby judge rules 24/7 program unconstitutional
Montana’s 24/7 sobriety program is unconstitutional, Lincoln County District Court Judge James Wheelis ruled Feb. 5 in Libby.
The program violates a defendant’s due process rights by improperly imposing fees on a defendant prior to conviction, and unlike bail, those fees cannot be refunded or applied to any other associated costs, he ruled.
The program amounts “to pretrial punishment in violation of defendants’ due process rights,” he said.
“When a defendant posts his own bail, his bail is exonerated at sentencing, which the defendant can apply toward his fine,” Wheelis said. “The fees paid to the sheriff’s department to participate in 24/7 are not exonerated at sentencing and cannot be used to offset a fine, even if the defendant is found ‘not guilty’ of the underlying offense.”
The program requires anyone who receives a second or subsequent DUI charge to submit to alcohol breath tests twice a day at $2 per test. A positive test or failure to take a test could result in the person’s immediate arrest and a new charge of contempt.
The Montana Attorney General’s Office filed a notice of appeal to the Montana Supreme Court one day after Wheelis filed his order. Briefs have not yet been submitted in the case.
“Combating DUI is a priority for Attorney General Tim Fox, and the 24/7 Sobriety Program is an effective tool in curtailing not only repeat DUI offenses but other alcohol-related crimes as well,” spokesman John Barnes said. “It has been proven to work not only in Montana but other states as well.”The attorney general's office said the program will continue in two dozen other Montana counties while Wheelis' ruling is appealed.
The 24/7 program was enacted by the 2011 Legislature as one of several bills to crack down and prevent drunken driving in Montana. The law gives counties the option to start the program.
Since it started, more than 3,000 people in Montana have been ordered to take part in the program. More than 1,400 people took part in the 24/7 program in 2013.