Court Opinion

ID: 9693594
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 16:51:58.231212+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:48.817929
License: Public Domain

McGIVERIN, Justice
(concurring specially).
I concur in the opinion, but feel compelled to write further.
The opinion states the accident is not unimportant or irrelevant as an attending circumstance in sentencing. With that I agree, but the statement does not go far enough.
I believe an accident in which an OMVUI defendant is at fault and which results at least in part from defendant’s driving while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage can be a very important factor, although not the only factor, in consideration of a proper sentence for the individual defendant. Our OMVUI law was enacted to protect persons using the highways from accidents caused by drinking drivers.
I would not want trial courts to be deterred by the result we reach today from giving appropriate weight to occurrence of an accident and its attendant circumstances when considering a sentence.