T""
Wednesday, October 19, 1033
l fr kCToi
in
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 83 No. 37
Judge: Most DVs end in
By l&ui Hopple'---...''
" - ' . ... ... t . , .
After walking the line, taking a breath test and
being booked at the station, a person arrested and
found guilty of driving while intoxicated will most
likely be sentenced to probation, according to a
Lincoln Municipal court judge.
Judge Neal H. Dusenberry said more than 50
percent of the approximately 2,000 DWI offenders
arrested each year in Lincoln are put on probation.
Those denied probation usually have requested a
non-probation sentence or are found to be a bad
risk for probation by the probation office and the
presiding judge,' he said.
Chief jobation Officer Bud Holmes said the
highest 'percentage of DWI offenders who receive 1
probation are the first-time offenders.
Holmes said there have been "a lot, very many" :
students arrested for DWI and put on probation.
JudgeJanice Gradwohlsaid that she thinks many
students are involved in DWI cases because of the
emphasis placed on alcohol as a social tooL
Gradwohl said her caseload in court has increased
since last year. The increase can be attributed to the
new Nebraska state drunk driving law, she said.
Holmes also cited the new law as the reason for
the increased caseload at the probation office, and
resulting in the hiring of two new probation officers.
The law, which went into effect July 17, 1982,
requires a minimal jail term of seven days, a six
month total suspension of driver's license, and a
$200 fine if the offender is not on probation.
tiers people request probation
Gradwohl said because probation can reduce the
license suspension to 60 days, more people now are
requesting probation than before the new law went
into effect
Before the court decides if the offender is a "good
candidate" for probation, the probation office does
J! z Q-4 f fellk
!i fir JJi Wi fM
inustlcn by Ley Anns Zsesk
Professo
f studies council elections
Ey Ctncio Tt.
The effects of Et-Izrgs c?ty council elections on
minority groups will be one aspect of urban govern
ment studied in a survey being conducted by a UNL
professor.'.' - :..--,'
Professor Susan Welch said Tuesday that at-large
city council elections tend to discriminate against
against minority' groups.' : ' ." - " ."
- or more tise at-large elections, she said. This type of
Inside
Petty Dcr.-hua comes to you livo end
win iiwiii iiiv ixuiwj iwuok ....... rww
Th3 Nebraska women's foe:!btbeJI team
bessn prsctico Monday under, tha direction
of interim coech Kelly Hill . . . . . .'. . 13
Index
Arts end Entertainment Z
GSeeemd .............................13
Crossword 11
Edtoriel 4
OffThaViro
Sports 13
system tends to elect upper-income white males in
professional careers. During the last 20 years, there
has been a movement away from at-large systems to
district election? or a mixture of the district and
at-large system, Welch said. . -: ...
Welch, a Regents professor and chairman of the '
UNL department of political science, recently re
ceived a 137,346 grant from the National Science
Foundation. The grant will be used to continue the
survey which is designed to study the effects of
urban political structures on city council members
and their decisions. ;
Welch said she believes at-large elections have
the advantage of providing more community-wide
points of view rather than neighborhood points of
view; however, district elections provide a more
diverse election of council members.
This is important because "the diversity of the
people that you elect to Gee affects the kinds of
decisions they make and the kinds cf laws that are
made," Welch said. -: v-
The survey will attempt to discover whether dis
trict elections elect lower-income, non-professional -
community members from various religious back-'
: Welch said she expects her research will be used
by cities that are considering changing their elec
toral procedure. . ; : "''
- Welch will be working with a political science
graduate student, Timothy Eledsoe, and will con
duct the nationwide survey cf urban city councils in
cities with populations cf more than 50,000 and less
than one million. This will provide a good sample of
medium to large cities across the country, she said.
Omaha will be the only Nebraska city included in
the survey. Lincoln was excluded because Michael
Steinman, an associate prefcrrer in the department
of political science, was running for re-election to
the city council when the survey was begun.
ion
a pre-sentence investigation, Holmes said.
He said the probation officers screen the offender
for possible alcohol problems, arrange a personal
interview with a probation officer, do a records
check for possible previous legal offenses, and
collect background information. ; r
"We get family background, educational back
ground, employment background, . military back
ground, health background and marital back
ground, ..." he said.
The information collected in the investigation b
presented to the judge presiding over the case, who
decides if the offender should be put on probation
or not.
Gradwohl said that a "good candidate" for probation
would be a person who did not seem to have alcohol
problems.
"It has to be someone we feel would be a good risk
to put on probation," she said. "Someone who's
responsible, who would benefit from it, and be
responsive to this type of programming."
Recommended for treatment
A person who seems to have more alcohol problems
usually will be recommended for more intensive
treatment before he is put on probation, Gradwohl
said. This often includes inpatient or outpatient
alcohol rehabilitation and counseling, she said.
Holmes said the terms of probation vary from
case to case because no two cases exactly alike.
The terms would be designed to fit the individual's
needs not what the individual feels his needs are,
but what the court feels they are," he said.
Holmes said the basic requirements of every
probation order whether first, second, or third
.offense -- are reporting to a probation officer as
scheduled, refraining froia unlawful activitiesre-.
framing from associating with "unsavory" people or
going to disreputable plaes, notifying the office of
changes of address and notifying the office of any
changes in employment. - - -" : :: .
Holmes said probation for a first DWI offense can
last from one to two years. A second or third offense
may draw a one- to five-year probation.
The court can order additional terms of probation,
Holmes said. He said extra terms often include
writing book critiques, essays on alcoholism, attending '
meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, receiving psy
chological counseling, and attending driver im
provement and defensive driving schools or alcohol
education classes.
The DWI offender also must pay court costs and
any witness fees, according to how many witnesses
are called to testify, Holmes said.
"The main thing is: don't drink and drive," Holmes
said. "There are a lot better alternatives."
j
y' " '' N
v
3
i if
Student talent
UIJL teier.t JerHyn Peters, a Jsrler suer
Irg in fcc!dea dez!jn, perTenns Cziz t!i3
Vzlzzi Crib TzzzZzy tTtemeen. TL2 CcT;
HK, Vw-M it li m3 UvMtvVMMeJ 1. w
A
