Judge Lanny Waite held court at the Moapa Valley High School on Tuesday, March 15, to hear an actual DUI case.

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

Court was in session for the junior and senior classes at Moapa Valley High School on Tuesday, March 15. Judge Lanny Waite convened the Moapa Valley Justice Court during a school assembly to demonstrate to students the workings of the justice system and the consequences of being involved in crime.

Before the court was an actual case involving defendant Jose Cadena who was accused of Driving Under the Influence (D.U.I). This was the second time Cadena had been up on D.U.I. charges in seven years, according to the prosecution. During the proceedings, students listened to testimony from three witnesses brought by the prosecution.

Local Metro officer Cory Estes testified of the details regarding an incident on August 8, 2009 when he pulled over Mr. Cadena in downtown Overton because he observed erratic driving behavior at speeds exceeding the posted speed limit.

Estes said that the accused appeared unsteady in getting out of his car. The defendant admitted to Estes that he had been drinking up until eight minutes before he had been stopped and that he had consumed 10 beers at the time, Estes said.

Estes performed two field sobriety tests both of which the subject failed, Estes said. The defendant was then taken into custody and transported to Clark County Detention Center for blood tests to be done.

Registered Nurse, Mary Jane McDonald testified that she had drawn the blood for the test on Mr. Cadena. She affirmed that the blood test had been completed according to proper protocol.

Forensic Scientist, Theresa Suffecol, was called to the stand to testify that she had completed the lab work on the blood samples. She stated that the results of the test had shown a blood alcohol level of .193. The legal driving limit for blood alcohol level is .08. Suffecol testified that these levels were accurate for the particular time they were taken.

Judge Waite addressed a panel of 12 MVHS students who had been chosen to serve as an unofficial jury in the case. He sent them out of the room to deliberate on the case and return with their verdict.

While the jury was out, Waite pronounced his actual verdict. Because the defendant was willing to go through the ordeal of having his case heard in front of a high school audience, Waite said he would set a maximum of 30 days in jail in sentencing. Waite also said he would require the defendant to receive treatment for alcoholism. He agreed to hold the final sentencing to a later date in order to allow the defendant to make arrangements with his employer to allow for treatment.

“When we see someone getting two DUI offenses within a 10 year period, and with alcohol levels as high as in this case, there is no question that there is a significant problem there,” said Waite. “I have no desire to see him lose his job, but I don’t think that treatment on the weekends is really a good enough option. I’d like him to come back prepared to discuss more substantial treatment options that might be available.”

When the student jury returned from deliberation, the foreman declared that the jury’s finding in the case was ‘guilty’.

“This is a classic case of what not to do,” said defense attorney Joe Scalia in a question-answer session with students following the proceedings. “You all should be careful who you pick as your friends because, in most cases I see involving kids, their actions have been heavily influenced by the people they associate with. You don’t want to end up in my office paying me money to defend you in a situation like this. At that point, you are powerless to make your own decisions. At that point you will have other people making the decisions for you. That is not a good place to be.”