Our word for the day is celerity. No. I am not referring to that green vegetable often placed next to the carrots on the serving tray. You are thinking of celery.
According to my dictionary, celerity is a noun, not a vegetable. Definitions of celerity include “quickness in movement or in doing something,” “swiftness” and “speediness.”
The word celerity is rarely used in normal conversation and I suspect the word means little or nothing to most people. Celerity is a meaningful word to me, however, as it makes me think of how much time it takes us to handle driving while intoxicated cases.
No doubt you have heard of the phrase “justice delayed is justice denied” and that you understand how justice suffers when cases take too long to get resolved. Celerity relates to just the opposite proposition — that swift punishment is more effective and deters people from committing crimes.
I firmly believe that proposition to be true based on my own experience. But is that really the case? The research I have found suggests that it is.
One interesting study was conducted several years ago by researchers with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the Minnesota House of Representatives and the University of Minnesota Law School. The researchers analyzed data regarding drunk drivers in Minnesota, focusing on how quickly DWI cases were resolved and recidivism, referring to offenders who get another DWI.
The hypothesis of the study was that offenders whose cases were delayed were more likely to get another DWI and more likely to be involved in a DWI related crash.
The researchers looked at all DWI offenders in Minnesota in 1995, classified the offenders in groups based on how quickly their case was resolved, and compared recidivism rates. The researchers found that there appears to be a relationship between the length of time it takes to process a DWI offense and the likelihood of DWI recidivism.
The study does not conclusively prove that celerity reduces recidivism, and the authors of the study suggest that further research is needed. If there is such a causal relationship, however, the implications are significant —that we could make our roadways safer and save lives just by processing DWI cases in a timelier manner. That factor alone warrants consideration. I have, however, a second reason to offer in support of the proposition that we should expedite DWI cases.
It might save us some money.
With our struggling economy and a huge budget deficit we need to squeeze every penny. If we calculated the public cost of processing a DWI case, I would hypothesize that the costs increase over the length of time it takes to conclude a case. It might be difficult to measure such costs, but it only makes sense that a speedy adjudication would save money.
What if it is not only more effective to expedite DWI cases but it is also more efficient?
Celerity.
An intriguing word, don’t you think? Just don’t look for it on your dinner plate.
As always, remember it is your court.
Rasmussen is a district court judge in the Ninth Judicial District. He is chambered in Clearwater County and works primarily in Clearwater and Hubbard counties. His e-mail address is:
