ROCKVILLE, MD 鈥� Rich Leotta wore his late son鈥檚 Montgomery County Police badge around his neck as he announced his newest effort to combat drunken driving.
will create a court-watch program designed to pressure Montgomery County judges to order vehicle ignition interlock devices in all cases of drunk driving.
Leotta said he鈥檚 been visiting Montgomery County courtrooms to monitor how cases of drunk driving are handled. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to see me in there. They might not like it, but guess what? They are going to get used to my face,鈥� said Leotta.
鈥淥ur goal is going to be eliminating [drunken] driving in Montgomery County,鈥� said Leotta. He鈥檚 kicking off an 18-month effort that will include public education and public safety campaigns. 鈥淲e need the help of many 鈥� particularly our courts鈥�, Leotta said.
Leotta was joined by Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger, Montgomery County State鈥檚 Attorney John McCarthy and Maryland Delegate Ben Kramer as he made the announcement in the lobby of the county circuit courthouse in Rockville.
Leotta, with his wife, Marcie, successfully lobbied Annapolis lawmakers to pass 鈥淣oah鈥檚 Law,鈥� named for his son who was killed by a drunk driver in December 2015. But Leotta says there鈥檚 a loophole in the law. It does not require judges to order ignition interlocks in cases where a driver is granted a probation before judgment, or PBJ.
With NoahOnPatrol, Leotta says actively monitoring judges 鈥� even calling them out by name when they don鈥檛 put drivers on ignition interlocks 鈥� could help achieve his ultimate goal: ending drunken driving altogether. Leotta said when asked how he succeeded in passing the legislation named for his son, he quotes his wife: 鈥淲e shamed them.鈥� And he says he鈥檇 apply the same strategy in the court watch program. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what it might take 鈥� to shame them.鈥�
McCarthy said court-watch programs have been used in the county for years by activists who work on issues of domestic violence. 鈥淟et me tell you, court watch works!鈥�
After the announcement, McCarthy said that while court watch programs are effective, they typically don鈥檛 mention judges by name in their reports, so as to avoid the risk of civil suits. Asked about that, Leotta said he鈥檚 willing to take the risk.
Leggett SAID he鈥檚 supporting the initiative to eliminate drunken driving. He mentioned the county鈥檚 own effort, known as Vision Zero, a campaign to stop traffic fatalities. For starters, Leggett said, 鈥淲e want to cut by 35 percent the number of fatal collisions by November of 2019鈥�
Manger said his department is pushing for stricter penalties for drunken driving, but said driver behavior also has to change: 鈥淲e鈥檙e hopeful we can get voluntary compliance, so that people won鈥檛 have to get caught to realize that it鈥檚 not a good idea to drive drunk.鈥�
Chuck Hurley, with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told reporters, 鈥淚n my lifetime, more than 1 million people have been killed by drunk drivers. But also in my lifetime, we can eliminate this primary threat to the American family.鈥�
