DUI and the Trial Penalty: It’s All in the Numbers

An accident led to a DUI Manslaughter charge against a graduate student who had a clean driving record. After conviction, a judge gave the young man a 35-year sentence. In the local jurisdiction, nine years was the average sentence for the crime. What distinguished the graduate student’s case? The trial penalty. Robert Reiff says the young man was punished severely for his decision to proceed to trial.