Northern Virginia Supports
National Night of Compliance
Marking the 21st anniversary of the 21 minimum drinking age law, MADD worked with Fairfax County Police to conduct undercover compliance checks in local alcohol retail establishments on Friday, July 16th. The Fairfax County sting was just one of 21 operations conducted in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in 21 cities that evening for a national "Night of Compliance."
The "Night of Compliance" gave MADD a snapshot of the alarming rate of illegal alcohol sales, underscoring the need for every community to organize a coordinated attack against youth alcohol access. (continued on page 2).
Chapter President’s Letter
This is my first letter to the Members of our Chapter. By way of introduction, I live in Reston with my wife and have four kids. My oldest was killed by a drunk driver Memorial Day weekend 2002. The loss of my son and the prosecution of the driver, made me appreciate in the starkest terms the value that MADD brings to working with victim families (mine) and guiding us through the court process. I have also seen first hand the grief and trauma that result from the violent decision to drink and driver. My goal as Chapter President is to do whatever I can to bring an end to this "epidemic" that kills and injures our kids, our friends and our neighbors. I realize, of course, that we can never bring it to "an end," but by working together and by being bold in our approach we can make a difference.
But to make a difference, all of us need to be become more involved with NOVA MADD. We need speakers to address school groups, we need victim advocates to work with families, we need people to speak to their legislators, and we need people to monitor the courts. We – you and I – need to get more engaged than we have been to date.
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Inside this Issue:
National Conference
Victim Vigil
Volunteer Profile
Virginia Roads Safer
New MADD President
MADD Golf Tournament
Court Monitoring Program
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We also need to hone our message to the media, elected officials and the
general public. As a public policy advocacy group we can make a difference if our message is clear and to the point.
To my first point of the need for more involvement in the Chapter, if you would like to become more involved, in whatever way you are most comfortable with, please email me at PresidentMADD@aol.com. To my second point, I do want to hear your recommendations, praise, concerns, criticisms, and recommendations for how we can better make our message clear through Northern Virginia. Whenever you have a comment or idea, don’t hesitate to email me at PresidentMADD@aol.com. (continued on page 2).
(Chapter President’s Letter continued)
Courts
My focus as President will be to make sure that the courts in Northern Virginia interpret the DWI laws as the Virginia General Assembly intended. One of my goals is to reinvigorate the MADD Court Monitoring System. To do this, we need volunteers to monitor court proceedings. In my short time as President, I have been told directly by the police and the prosecutors that MADD NOVA has to be prepared to hold our judges accountable.
Judicial activism by judges who feel that the DWI laws are too harsh undercut the intent of the General Assembly and the good work of the police and the commonwealth attorneys.
A case in point The defendant was charged with
driving while intoxicated and the blood alcohol count (BAC) was .21 (almost three times the legal limit .08). The trial was in Fairfax County General District Court last month. According to reports we have received, the judge refused to admit the evidence presented by the Commonwealth Attorney upon motion by the defense counsel that the DWI statutes are unconstitutional. The judge ruled that the certificate of analysis and the field sobriety testing were inadmissible because the presumptions contained in the DWI sections of the Virginia Code were unconstitutional. As a result, it appears that this ruling has put a dangerous driver back on our streets and may put in question any DWI case that comes before him in the future.
This decision is one of many DWI decisions made in the courts that are just "under the radar." Decisions that are made without the public ever being aware.
We need Members to be in the courtrooms to monitor proceedings so that MADD knows about these decisions, so that we can hold judges accountable. We need to be in these courtrooms to support the police who enforce and the commonwealth attorney who prosecutes. Without our presence, we can’t expect the police and the prosecution to expend their efforts if judges are able to simply ignore the intent of the General Assembly without consequences. Watch for further information on a Court Monitoring Program and be ready to help.
Thanks
Pat O’Connor
(National Night of Compliance continued)
The Fairfax Traffic Safety Services unit, along with the West Springfield District patrol officers, conducted an operation to check compliance with the legal purchase of alcohol in the Burke and West Springfield area. Fairfax County police cadets, dressed in plain clothes, attempted to purchase alcoholic beverages at 21 locations, resulting in four store clerks being issued a summons for illegal sale of alcoholic beverage to a minor.
"It’s important to mark the 21st anniversary of the national 21 drinking age law because of the more than 21,000 young lives the law has helped save," said Patrick O’Connor, MADD Northern Virginia president. "MADD supports the 21 law because it saves young lives and protects young minds. It’s laws like these that help keep alcohol - the No. 1 drug choice among the nation’s youth - out of the hands of those it hurts the most."
"While we have made great progress in reducing teen drinking and driving over the past 21 years, it still remains a major threat to teens today," said Glynn Birch, MADD national president. "It’s not OK to just tell our kids not to drink and drive. The message to all teens is not to drink at all until age 21."
Extensive research on the development of the human brain shows that it continues to develop though the early 20's. The studies show that alcohol use impairs teens’ learning abilities, memory and development, and invites the early onset of addiction and other alcohol-related problems that can carry on throughout their lifetime. On average, teens are beginning to drink alcohol at age 16. .
MADD Northern Virginia looks forward to working further with the Fairfax County police department, along with other enforcement agencies in the area to keep underage drinking enforcement a priority.
Always use
a Designated Driver!
3rd Annual MADD NoVA Golf Classic
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at Bull Run Golf Club, Haymarket, VA
Registration Form
Captains Choice Format
Name_________________________
Address________________________
Phone_________________________
E-mail_________________________
Handicap______________________
Shirt Size: S M L XL XXL
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Name_________________________
Address________________________
Phone_________________________
E-mail_________________________
Handicap______________________
Shirt Size: S M L XL XXL
- -- - - -
Name_________________________
Address________________________
Phone_________________________
E-mail_________________________
Handicap______________________
Shirt Size: S M L XL XXL
- -- - - -
Name_________________________
Address________________________
Phone_________________________
E-mail_________________________
Handicap______________________
Shirt Size: S M L XL XXL
Schedule/Fees
Date: September 13, 2005
Registration: 7:30am
Tee Time: 8:30am
Per Player: $175.00
Foursomes: $650.00
Hole Sponsors: $500.00
For additional information call:
Terry McCarthy: (703)779-7534 or
Visit us on the web at www.maddnova.org
Hole Sponsors
Company Name______________________________
Address_____________________________
Contact
Name_______________________________
Phone_______________________________
E-mail______________________________
All Hole Sponsors please
include a business card with payment.
MAILING INFORMATION
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Attn: Golf Committee
18620 Darden Cour
Leesburg, VA 20176
Checks payable to MADD.
Registration must be received by September 1, 2005.
Volunteer Profile:
Teresa McCarthy
How proud Teresa McCarthy was when her 18 year old daughter Mara Fox graduated from Oakton High School with a 4.0 GPA and was accepted at the University of Notre Dame. Mara was filled with enthusiasm the Fall of 1993. She declared a double major in psychology and Spanish, and planned to study abroad at Notre Dame’s institute in Toledo, Spain. As a lover of all things Spanish, her goal was to do social work with children in an Hispanic community.
All of those dreams were shattered the night of November 13, 1993, when Mara, walking back to campus with her roommates the night before Notre Dame’s football championship playoff with Florida State, was hit by a car-load of drunken law students. Mara was killed instantly. The friends who were with her could do nothing, but watch the car speed away.
Mara’s killer was arrested and tried for involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of the crash, but the jury felt sorry for him, a law student with the rest of his life before him, they said. They forgot about the life this drunk driver took from Mara and her family. They forgot that this was no accident, but a conscious decision made by a young man who certainly should have known better than to drink and then drive.
Since that time Teresa has dedicated her life to getting drunk drivers off the road and helping victims of this terrible crime. Teresa, as a victim advocate for over 8 years, has helped many families in Northern Virginia prepare Victim Impact Statements and prepare for the ordeal of the trials ahead. Teresa is a very moving speaker. She makes presentations for offenders at court-ordered Victim Impact Panels and also visits schools and community groups talking about the dangers of underage drinking. For the past 3 years, she has given impact of crime presentations at the Fairfax County Jail. Teresa is involved with organizing and running MADD Northern Virginia’s annual Golf Tournament. She also works with husband Terry and Diane Brown on MADD’s vehicle donation program which helps to keep our chapter running.
Teresa’s got a great smile and fantastic personality. Everyone who meets her is energized and soon committed to MADD’s mission.
How proud Mara must be of her mother.
MADD 2005
Victim/Survivor Tribute
A Celebration of Life
On the evening of September 2005, MADD Victim Services will host the annual Victim/ Survivor Tribute at 7:30PM in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. This will be a time to honor, remember and celebrate. Attendees will be invited to light a candle in remembrance of their loved one or in honor of an injured crash victim/survivor.
Seating is limited, so please contact Noreen at the MADD office (703) 379-1135 to reserve a seat.
MADD Launches National
Victim Services 24-hour Helpline
MADD National has established a 24-hour live nationwide victim assistance helpline with an easy to remember telephone number, 1-877-MADD-HELP. The helpline will be a lifeline for new victims/survivors and a source of continuing help for established victims/ survivors. MADD will now be able to reach more victims/survivors in a timely manner. The helpline counselors will provide supportive listening, guidance, and referrals. After initial phone assistance, the helpline counselor will refer all victim/survivor callers to local MADD chapters for ongoing support.
New & Revised Victim Support Literature
Through the generous support and funding by the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance, MADD Victim Services has revised and developed new supportive literature for victims/survivors of impaired driving crashes.
Along with revising some of the most utilized brochures:
Your Grief: You’re Not Going Crazy;
Someone You Know Drinks And Drives
Loss, Pain and Healing
(formerly Will It Always Feel This Way?);
How Are You Feeling?
(formerly Straight Talk About Death For Teenagers);
Helping Children Cope With Death,
and Every Child Deserves A Designated Driver
(formerly Impaired Drivers/Child Passengers);
two new brochures focusing on injury issues have been created: Living With Burn Trauma and
Living With Spinal Cord Injuries.
In addition MADD has also focused attention on children’s
issues developing two new therapeutic workbooks:
Hangin’ in there with Nigel:Your Grief Workbook and
Hangin’ in there with Nigel:For Coping with the Injury of a Loved One.
Please contact your local MADD office at (703) 379-1135 for copies of these brochures.
Glynn Birch First Dad To Head MADD
WASHINGTON (June 9, 2005) - Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) today named Glynn Birch of Orlando, Fla., as its next national president. Birch, who joined MADD after his 21-month-old son, Courtney, was killed by a repeat offender drunk driver in 1988, will be the first father to serve as national president. His three year term begins July 1. Birch served as president of the MADD Central Florida chapter before he was appointed to MADD's national board in 2000.
On May 3, 1988, Birch's son Courtney was playing with his two cousins at his grandmother's house when they ran outside to the sounds of an arriving ice cream truck. A car traveling 70 miles an hour struck and killed Courtney, and dragged his body 150 feet before finally stopping. The driver had a .26 blood-alcohol concentration, three prior DUI convictions and was driving on a suspended license as a result of previous DUIs. "This offender who took my son's life was the epitome of a higher risk driver," Birch said.
Virginia Roadways Getting Safer
Although even one death from drunk driving is
unacceptable, there is some good news from the preliminary Virginia DMV statistics for 2004 – both total motor vehicle deaths and alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths declined from 2003.
In 2004, 343 persons were killed in alcohol-related crashes in Virginia, a 4.99% decrease from 2003. The total of 922 persons killed on our highways represents a 2.12% decrease over 2003. Sadly, 42 teens, aged 15 - 19, were killed in alcohol-related crashes, up from 39 in 2003.
On the positive side, there were 28,471 persons convicted of DUI, a 5.27% increase over 2003. Since there was an increase of only 1.06% in the number of licensed drivers, it appears that the increase in convictions is because enforcement is getting to be more effective.
On the national scene, the number of drunk-driving fatalities in 2004 decreased by 2.4% to 16,694. While this is progress, it is not acceptable that nearly every half hour someone dies as a result of a drunk driver. Until this preventable crime is eliminated, MADD will be here to help pick up the pieces.
Court Monitoring Program
Needs Your Help!
The presence of Court Monitors in our local courts is vital to ensure that impaired driving laws are enforced and that offenders are punished appropriately and consistently. MADD will train you to become an effective Court Monitor understanding the criminal justice system, the process of the DUI/DWI case, individuals within and surrounding the court system and their responsibilities, the role of plea negotiations, and courtroom procedures. We will also teach you how to complete the data collections forms carefully and accurately.
If you meet the qualifications below and are interested in being trained as a Court Monitor, please call the Chapter Office, 703-379-1135.
Minimum Qualifications:
• Available during morning workday hours to attend court once or twice a week.
• Willing to participate in MADD sponsored and sanctioned Court Monitor training.
• At least 18 years of age.
