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An arrest for drinking and driving in one county may not net the same bond amount as it would in another.
The discrepancy is due to the setting of county bond schedules, which is done by the judges in each county, Hall County Attorney Mark Young said.
A Grand Island man arrested multiple times in three weeks for drunken driving has brought the issue of bond setting to the forefront of many conversations.
According to state statute, defendants who are eligible for bail shall be released from custody on their own recognizance unless a judge determines such a release wouldn't assure the defendant's future court appearances.
Young believes the Unicameral needs to address the statutes on bond to establish uniformity across the state and to make public safety an expressed consideration.
Driving under the influence is a misdemeanor for first and second offense, as well as third offense if the person's blood alcohol content is below 0.15, Young said. The legal limit for driving in Nebraska is 0.08.
In Hall County, most first-offense DUI charges are given recognizance bonds when the defendant has local ties, he said.
By way of a U.S. Supreme Court decision, everyone who is arrested is entitled to a hearing within 48 hours. To abide by that ruling, Hall County Court uses e-mail to establish probable cause during weekends when more than 48 hours would pass before a person could stand before a judge.
In such cases, the probable cause is sent to the presiding judge by the law enforcement agent involved in the arrest. The judges use that information along with "common sense" knowledge that the more trouble a person is in, the less likely he or she would be to show up for court to set bonds, Young said.
The Hall County attorney's office has no input in such cases, he said. The "overwhelming number" of DUI arrests in this county take place on the weekends, Young said.
When in court, Young and his deputies can request cash bonds and do point out previous failures to appear, bench warrants, the nature of contacts the person has with the community, the type of crime committed and the likelihood that the person will continue criminal activity if released. Personally, he tries to factor public safety into arguments for a cash bond.
"We have to pick the cases we ask for cash bonds on," he said. "There are plenty of cases where a (recognizance) bond is appropriate. (But) we do seem to have a lot of failures to appear in Hall County."
However, he added that just because a person posts a bond, it doesn't absolutely mean that person will return to court.
On the flip side, repeated accusations don't necessarily mean a person will run, either.
A recent case in point is Michael Van Boening.
Van Boening, 23, of 335 S. Plum St. was arrested on Jan. 20, when he was stopped for driving drunk with his 8-month-old daughter in the car. He was arrested again on Jan. 27 for leaving the same child home alone. A third arrest came on Feb. 2, when he was again stopped for drunken driving. He was released on his own recognizance the first two times but had to post a 10 percent of $2,500 bond after the Feb. 2 arrest.
A fourth arrest, his third for DUI, followed on Feb. 10 in Hamilton County.
Deputy Hamilton County Attorney Ross Luzum said Van Boening posted a 10 percent of $5,000 bond and must return to court in that county for arraignment on Feb. 26.
Van Boening appeared in Hall County Court on Wednesday for arraignment on the Feb. 2 incident.
"According to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), first-time offenders have driven drunk an average of 87 times before they are arrested and most likely have a serious problem with alcohol," said Randy See, Grand Island Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition project coordinator. "It really is a scary situation."
See said drivers who are under the influence aren't thinking clearly, have reduced reaction time and have impaired judgment. No one is protected from the risk drunken drivers pose, he said.
"There's the potential that vehicle right next to you is being operated by someone who's under the influence," See said.
See spoke in general about impaired drivers, and Young said he couldn't discuss Van Boening's cases specifically because they are pending in court.
Some people in the community have expressed concern about Van Boening's releases, and at least one person wrote a letter to the editor questioning why bonds weren't higher.
"What people need to remember is the court system is based on presumption of innocence," Young said.
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