Many DUI cases cleared from backlog, many remain

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Courts across South Carolina have cleared more than 11,000 drunken driving cases from backlogs that stretched back more than a decade.

The state Supreme Court this week released results showing that courts managed to dispose of more than half of their drunken driving cases over the four months following Chief Justice Jean Toal’s orders in March.

In a letter to judges, Toal says the results are encouraging, but she remains concerned that courts won’t be able to keep up given the huge volume of arrests law enforcement officers make regularly.

Results show about 14,000 drunken driving cases were pending statewide at the end of the four-month initiative.

Laura Hudson with Mothers Against Drunk Driving says clearing the dockets is nothing to celebrate since many cases were dismissed.