DUI Court offers a defendant with two prior DUI convictions and a third DUI arrest an opportunity to have the mandatory DUI-3 sentence diverted. Without that diversion, a DUI-3 conviction carries a mandatory prison sentence.
Ashley Cheever, at age 27, was in court Feb. 20 facing DUI-3 charges. She had a prior DUI conviction in 2012 and a second DUI conviction in 2015. Her third DUI arrest came last April 7, 2017.
Cheever pleaded guilty to the third DUI. She participated in DUI Court for a short time, as a condition of her release from jail, before her sentencing hearing. Her participation was short-lived, as she was arrested after a positive alcohol test on Jan. 22. She appeared in court in Humboldt County Jail orange stripes.
Her lawyer Rendal Miller, asked that she be allowed to attend the DUI Court Diversion Program. “During her time in jail, she’s had time to reflect,” Miller told Judge Montero. “Ms Cheever is asking to attend the DUI Diversion Program.”
Miller put his client’s alcohol and substance abuse evaluation into evidence and said in court that the evaluation found Cheever has severe alcohol use disorder. “I believe Ms. Cheever qualifies for DUI diversion,” Miller said.
The Humboldt County DA’s office also recommended the DUI Diversion Program as part of Cheever’s plea agreement.
When Cheever spoke, she said “I know made a mistake on pre-sentencing but I do have 5 children to take care of and I want to be sober. I worked on sober workbooks in jail and a prevention of relapse plan. I would like a chance to prove that I could stay sober.”
Judge Montero indicated Cheever’s statement led him to wonder about her motivation. “I want you to want treatment so you can overcome addiction to alcohol, not just so you can get out of jail to be with your five kids. If you just want to get out of jail to be with your kids you just as well go to prison and then get out and be with your kids.”
“I want to be sober,” Cheever told him.
The judge said she would have that opportunity. “I am going to grant diversion and place you under the conditions of the Adult DUI Program, which are very rigorous,” Montero said. “We will know very soon whether you will be able to do this for the right reasons or not.”
DUI-Court conditions include being placed under house arrest for the first six months and being monitored continuously by an ankle bracelet that does both GPS location and alcohol monitoring. She will have to be under contract with a company for that monitoring before she will be allowed to leave jail.
Should the time come that she is again legally allowed to drive, she must have a breath interlock device installed for one year in any vehicle she drives. She must successfully complete the three-year DUI Court Treatment Program and five years of probation. She must attend a Victim Impact Panel at her own expense.
The judge pronounced a $25 administrative assessment, $60 forensic fee, $3 for DNA collection, a $35 civil penalty payable to the Department of Motor Vehicles, a $100 specialty court program fee and a $2,000 fine.
Montero said $1,250 of the fine would be suspended if Cheever successfully completes the DUI Diversion Program. She must pay the remaining $750 during the first year of the program.
Montero outlined the conditions of DUI Court and took great pains to be sure Cheever understood that she will be responsible for paying all the associated costs, “You must be aware that the entire cost of the program is at your expense; this is not a program that is funded by the court,” Montero stressed.
In the past, when two individuals completed the three-year DUI Court Program and five years of probation, the judge has asked them to estimate the amount of money they paid in court costs, treatment costs, supervision costs, the contract for monitoring and the contract for an interlock device as well as all other associated costs. One of the individuals estimated $20,000; the other said $12,000 to $15,000.
