DWI: Mandatory jail time

The legislative session came and went. Then, it came and went again (the special session caused the second coming). The proposal to order mandatory jail time for a first offense DWI was ultimately killed prior to reaching the floor for a vote. The bill had some major flaws in it.

If it would have passed, it would have greatly discriminated between the inhabitants of the small and large municipalities --in many, if not all instances, the discrimination would be of an economic nature (rich v. poor). In small municipalities, there are little opportunities to obtain an ankle bracelet, whereas in the larger counties, it is almost a guaranteed option. In turn, if you were convicted of DWI first offense in Pecos, N.M. under the proposed legislation, you'd have to spend some time in jail, whereas if you were convicted in Albuquerque, N.M. you'd just have to wear some unattractive jewelry on your ankle for a while.

Let's see what proposals pop up next year....