From the Fayetteville Observer (8/15/10)

Cumberland County’s sobriety court will break new ground in September when it is called to order for the first time. Officials said the court will be the first in the state – and one of a few in the nation – to focus on people charged with drunken driving before they are convicted. There are few courts in the state that specialize in handling drunken drivers.

Prior to this fiscal year, only Mecklenburg County – with two such courts – had a dedicated DWI court, according to the state Administrative Office of the Courts. Cumberland is one of several counties planning to start a sobriety court this fiscal year.

The new court will work with people who have been convicted of a level 1 DWI – the most serious DWI charge – and who have since violated their court-ordered probation.

What will make Cumberland County’s court different is that it also will work with repeat offenders: people who are charged with additional DWIs while out on bond on drunken driving charges.

“We’re trying to get the most high-risk offenders that are in the population at large,” said District Court Judge Kim Tucker, who will preside over the court. “We’re looking for people that are on downward spirals of dangerous addiction.”

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