BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Officials in Sullivan County are looking to change how some drunken driving arrests are made after finding a “deficiency” in the criminal process that has led to charges being dismissed in several cases and threatened in others.
The Kingsport Times-News reports (http://bit.ly/1IF0268) the county’s criminal judges say that some DUI arrests and prosecutions taking place during after-hours have progressed without following a legal procedural step that includes getting a magistrate’s approval.
Local judges attended the county commission’s work session last week to plead for a fix.
The commission is expected to consider a resolution to appoint four magistrates, who would be on call at night and on weekends and holidays and would meet face-to-face with arresting officers to approve or deny their causes to support the arrests.
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Note: Elsewhere on DUI matters, the Crossville Chronicle reports on a judge’s dismissal of a case where the charges were not filed until 10 months after the event that caused them — a Highway Patrol car hitting the DUI suspect’s vehicle, leaving him critically injured. The blood test taken from accused man at the time had been lost in the interim. The man’s attorney also noted that the charges came after his client had filed a claim against the state for injuries suffered in the crash.