PORT ANGELES — It’s 3:45 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, and a group of mostly middle-aged men and women are seated on the cushioned benches of the Clallam County District 1 courtroom.
They are watching a man clad in an orange jail jump suit try and explain to the judge and a court coordinator why he is there.
The man was put into jail the previous morning after a device hooked to the receiver of his phone recorded his blood-alcohol level at 0.15 percent, evidence that he had been drinking.
He wasn’t driving, but getting behind the wheel while under the influence was what brought him to the court’s attention in the first place.
“How many DUIs you got?” asked DUI Drug Court coordinator Preston Kayes.
“Four,” the man answered.
“How many could you have got?” Kayes asked.
“Probably a hundred and four.”
‘Hardest of the hard’
This man and the dozen others in the court are repeat offenders, those whom the court has targeted as being “high risk” and the “hardest of the hard” when it comes to alcohol use.
Combined, they probably total upwards of 50 DUI convictions.
They make up the state’s first DUI Court, which combines the accountability of the judicial system with long-term, intensive treatment to encourage sober behavior and reduce DUIs.
So far, court leaders are seeing positive results.
Since the court started in late August, “we’ve yet to have a re-offense on a DUI,” said District Judge Rick Porter, who interacts with offenders from behind the bench each week.
