The word is slowly spreading out about the dismissal of 3rd time DUI offenses in the Cumberland County Mauro trial because of unreasonably delayed prosecution. He was cleared of all charges May 18 because his constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated when prosecutors delayed the case for more than four years. The drunk driving assult by vehicle charge was previosly dismissed in 2010 for the November 2006 DUI incident. The other eight charges did not reach trial until 2011. I’ve sent a letter to two local policitians, Van Drew and Albano, to let them know that this problem is not addressed in pending drunk driving reform legislation. Until the Mauro verdict two weeks ago, I don’t think anyone realized that it was a possibility that the system allowed a multiple offender with a good lawyer to entirely avoid prosecution.
I’m still not sure how the NJ Citizens Against Drunk Driving cause will build and so I will begin asking the people who contact me if they would be willing to offer advice or perhaps some volunteer effort. It would be great to find an attorney with a knowledge of both the political process and the prosecution procedures for DUI who was willing to volunteer to steer the effort. Otherwise we are just a tag-team group of outraged citizens complaining to each other or “preaching to the choir” as the saying goes.
Some people have asked for the source document. My annotated copy that was provided by the county’s Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy is stored online at http://sdrv.ms/KQURB4. I do not yet have a copy of the dismissal verdict.
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