Judging Influence
Between 1910, with the passage of America’s first drunk-driving law, and 1936 (the first year of per se DUI), the limits of DUI were largely set by medical experts…and judges. That’s why judges have had the reins pulled on them since the 1970’s, and their authority to hand out widely disparate sentencing varies so widely. Additionally, the sense of political pressure on judges in state systems to “get drunks” off the road has been enormous. This has had the result of changing the tactics of DUI lawyers.