Interactive Map - Typical penalties faced by first-offense drunken driving offenders in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. These are not the maximums allowed by state laws. (BAC refers to blood alcohol content):By: Emily Brown
When former NBA star and ESPN analyst Jalen Rose was sentenced for a March drunken driving incident this week, one of the biggest factors in his punishment was the location of his arrest: the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield.
Rose appeared before Judge Kimberly Small on Wednesday, who ordered him to serve 20 days in the county jail on his first offense. Small told him she doesn't mind him drinking but said: "I do mind when you get behind the wheel of a two-ton vehicle and use it as a weapon against the rest of us."
If Rose had been arrested a few miles away in Pontiac, Mich., his chances of going to jail would have been almost zero, Michigan state statistics show.
The case showed the inconsistent punishment meted out for drunken driving in Michigan and across the country. Drunken driving penalties are a lot like real estate values; they depend on location, location, location.
Alaska, Tennessee and Georgia are among the states with mandatory jail time for first offenders, locking up drunks for three, two and one day respectively, a survey of state laws shows. California, Connecticut and Indiana don't require jail for first timers.
In Wisconsin, first-offense drunken driving isn't even a crime. It's a civil infraction that results in a ticket.
"There are no set guidelines on this. There's no national standard on this," said Alex R. Piquero, a criminology professor at the University of Texas-Dallas, who has studied drunken driving for more than 20 years. "There is a lot of discretion. It's like a ref on the football field. Everyone holds on every play. Which one is the most egregious of the offense?"
Continue Reading: usatoday.com
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