Reply #11: I have come to believe that a single occurrence, when there are

[rasputin1952]

no injuries, should be a "wake up call", and treated as easily as possible, much like mine was; but when there are repeat offenses, the hammer should come down, and hard.

I know of one person here who has nine offenses, and had done 40 hours of Community Service...that's it, his license hasn't even been suspended, much less revoked. He has been before the same judge 8 of those times, and there are some serious questions in the community as to just how this individual has been able to stay out of jail of pay some hefty fines, much less retain his license...especially when the same judge has sentenced first time offenders to jail, and maxed out the fine, (one of which was to a defendent that was cited for driving his lawnmower under the influence, he was driving down the sidewalk to get to the local bar). Said judge is up for re-election in November, and there is a concerted effort to defeat him, (and the NE Supreme Court is looking closely at him. There was a scandal involving another judge in a Capital case where he was found to have manipulated and suppressed evidence, so all kinds of things are happening in NE courts these days).

In any case, driving while intoxicated is a serious offense, and at least a day in jail is well worth the time and expense if someone stops said behavior. Lives are at stake, and far too often, the drunk driver walks from the accident that killed an innocent, or an entire family of innocent victims.