Pubdate: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 Source: Deseret News (UT) Copyright: 2002 Deseret News Publishing Corp. Contact: http://www.desnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/124 Author: Amy Joi Bryson, Deseret News staff writer DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVERS WHO KILL ARE TARGETED Drugs such as meth, cocaine and prescription pain relievers are as deadly as alcohol on Utah roads, but their users often escape punishment because the drugs are less detectable and harder to measure. The state's current automobile homicide statute makes it incredibly tough for prosecutors to go after offenders who are involved in fatal traffic accidents after using drugs illegally. The most serious charge now available is a class B misdemeanor, hardly what prosecutors and victim advocates equate to justice. A proposal on Capitol Hill would change that, closing a gap in Utah's efforts to eradicate driving under the influence. Proposed by Paul Boyden, executive director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, the measure would allow prosecutors to charge the third-degree felony of automobile homicide in those instances where it was previously out of reach. Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Sandy, is sponsoring the bill, which was heard by the Legislature's Transportation Interim Committee on Wednesday and approved for debate in the 2003 general session. Boyden said a number of circumstances would have to exist, but the proposal, if passed, would herald a new era in prosecuting DUI deaths linked to use of drugs other than alcohol. Unlike alcohol, Schedule I and Schedule II drugs such as meth, morphine, cocaine and painkillers lack a definitive standard of measurement in which police and prosecutors can say this much is "too much." If someone is operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, field sobriety tests and blood work can determine if the suspect is impaired above the legal limit of .08 percent. No such correlative exists for the other drugs, Boyden said. Walker's proposal does not invoke a measurable standard but simply says automobile homicide can be charged if the drugs are in the system illegally, the driving was criminally negligent, and someone died as a result. "We can prove that the person has ingested, we can prove someone died as a result, but what we cannot prove is that they were impaired or under the influence of that drug," Boyden said. "The reason we cannot prove that is we don't have scientifically reliable standards that say when a person is under the influence of these drugs." Prosecutors did allow for an affirmative defense to the charge if the motorist has legally taken the drug because of a doctor's prescription. All others are up for grabs, Boyden said. "If someone is using those drugs and they are in their system and they are not lawfully prescribed for them, public policy dictates that they should be held criminally liable for causing that death." The proposal would also allow prosecutors to charge automobile homicide as a second-degree felony for those offenders who have previous DUI convictions. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake