SMITHFIELD -
A special court to handle DWI charges begins in Johnston County today, to help reduce a backlog of about 1,400 pending cases.
District Attorney Susan Doyle sought and received a grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Program to pay for the court, which will operate three days a week through Sept. 30, 2009. The grant is for $167,309.
Doyle says she hopes it will improve the county's relatively low conviction rate for driving while impaired charges.
In 2006, county prosecutors voluntarily dismissed about 43 percent of impaired-driving charges, according to court records. That compares to a 14 percent dismissal rate statewide that year.
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Staff writer Mark Schultz