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Saturday, November 26, 2005
Ind. Courts - Tippecanoe deputy prosecutor honored
The Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving has honored aTippecanoe deputy prosecutos, according to this story in the Lafayette Journal&Courier. Some quotes:
Greg Loyd is one of two deputy prosecutors who handle more than 1,000 misdemeanor and Class D felony drunken driving cases annually in Tippecanoe Superior Court 6.Despite the heavy caseload, Loyd has taken extra time in the past two years to make sure the interests of drunken-driving victims are heard in court, found new ways to prosecute drunken-driving suspects who refuse to give breath samples and adeptly handled several high-profile cases. * * *
When Loyd noticed that there was no restitution payment plan in place for several offenders who had pleaded guilty and agreed to make restitution to their victims, Garten said, he looked up numerous past cases and scheduled hearings to establish payment schedules.
Loyd, who is fluent in Spanish, said that skill has come in handy numerous times while he worked with victims and offenders alike in court.
Garten said Loyd makes himself available to police officers at all hours to answer legal questions they encounter while investigating drunken driving cases and provides advice when police conduct sobriety checkpoints. * * *
Recently, Loyd helped the prosecutor's office obtain a $15,000 grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to pay for court-ordered blood tests for OWI suspects who refuse to give breath tests. * * *
Loyd said he and police will have to work closely with the county's judges to obtain search warrants ordering timely blood tests when there is probable cause. But he hopes it will reverse a trend of about 150 drivers annually refusing breath tests despite state laws requiring them to submit.
Dan Towery, of Mothers Against Drunk Driving-West Central Indiana, said that effort will be critical in the local fight against impaired driving. "Defense attorneys have coached their clients to refuse the breath test so that a BAC (blood-alcohol content) cannot be entered into the court record, and this weakens the case," Towery said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 26, 2005 09:04 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts