Impaired Driving Symposium

Registration will be located in the prefunction area right outside the Century I & II Ballrooms. Come sign-in and get your name badge before the program. 

Hotel check-in isn't until 4:00 p.m. but the hotel will be able to store your luggage until then. 

Lunch will be served in the Century Ballroom. Grab a plate and a spot before the program starts. 

Visit the Impaired Driving Symposium vendors on your break. 

Welcoming you to the program will be:

• Laura Weiser, Judicial Resource Liaison at the Texas Center for the Judiciary

Mixed Alcohol and Marijuana Impairment
This session will explore the landscape of hemp-derived cannabis products being sold legally in Texas. The presenters will share examples of these readily available, impairing products, which are found in your local smoke shops, convenience stores, and even vending machines. An emerging trend of combining THC products with alcohol in licensed establishments, posing a significant threat to road safety, as evidenced by the data shared, will be uncovered. You will learn about the varied approaches of states towards on-site cannabis consumption, comparing adult-use states with those similar to Texas which have not legalized adult use. In addition, we will examine the current cannabis-related laws in Texas. You will come away from the session equipped with a deeper understanding of available products and explore potential strategies for how we can course correct to enhance community and roadway safety.

Course handout

Speakers

Cody E. Stewart is an Associate Transportation Researcher at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Mr. Stewart has almost 15 years of experience in risk management and traffic safety at the Institute. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Sam Houston State University and his Executive Master of Public Service and Administration from Texas A&M University. Mr. Stewart was included as a subject matter expert to provide testimony to the Impaired Driving Program Assessment team assembled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the 2022 State of Texas Impaired Driving Program Assessment for his work in alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures. His work on prescription drugged-impaired driving in Texas as a co-author has also been published in the Texas Public Health Journal. Furthermore, Mr. Stewart’s current research includes serving as the Principal Investigator on TxDOT’s sole cannabis-specific traffic safety grant. He also serves as the Principal Investigator on an ignition interlock training and evaluation grant, as well as a motorcycle training, licensing, and analysis grant. Previously, Mr. Stewart’s work included a feasibility study of an all-offender driving while intoxicated tracking system for Texas, comprehensive motorcycle crash analyses, blood alcohol concentration reporting, and training and technical assistance with Texas’ Crash Reporting and Analysis for Safer Highways system.

Christine Adams is an assistant research scientist for the Center for Alcohol and Drug Education Studies (CADES). Her primary role is serving as the administrator for the Texas Impaired Driving Task Force in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Ms. Adams is also Co-Principal Investigator on the TxDOT Essential Education on Marijuana grant. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Texas and her Master of Business Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno. Prior to joining CADES, Ms. Adams served as the vice chairperson for the Northern Nevada DUI Task Force for seven years, where she was presented with the State Impaired Driving Abatement Award for her work on the Nevada Strategic Highway Safety Plan and her advocacy at the Nevada legislature. Ms. Adams’ knowledge and experience include prevention of underage access to alcohol, server/seller compliance, building community partnerships, public education campaigns, effective marijuana strategies, and victim services. She has spent over 15 years working to reduce harm caused by substance use in communities and on roadways.
 

This presentation will review the data on prevalence of drug-impaired driving, the impact of drug use on the important tasks associated with driving, drug influence evaluations conducted by specially trained law enforcement officers known as drug recognition experts (DREs), the training necessary to qualify as a DRE, the twelve-step DRE protocol, and the admissibility of DRE testimony in cases involving impaired driving.

• Powerpoint handout
• DRE Matrix
• Program binder - This includes an additional copy of the powerpoint handout and a list of National Judicial College courses and information. It's a bigger file - you do not need to print it for the program, but you may find the information useful. 

Speaker

Judge Mary Katherine (Kate) Huffman serves on the Second District Court of Appeals located in Dayton, Ohio, and serving a six-county region in southwestern Ohio.  She was a General Division Judge from 2002 until February, 2023, and served as the elected Administrative Judge of the General Division from January, 2016 through December, 2018.  At various times during her trial court tenure, she presided over the Women’s R.IS.E. court, and the Drug Court program.  Prior to becoming a judge, she had a civil and criminal law trial practice for eleven years with the firm Huffman, Landis & Weaks.  Judge Huffman received her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Wright State University, her Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, from University of Dayton School of Law, and a Master of Judicial Studies degree from University of Reno, Nevada. Judge Huffman has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Dayton School of Law since 2003.  She recently served as the Chair of the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure and is currently the Vice-Chair of the Ohio Judicial College.  As the ABA National Judicial Fellow Judge Huffman provides peer-to-peer education to other judges on impaired driving and related issues.  She has written a number of scholarly articles for publication, including “Tort Law: Social Host Liability for the Negligent Acts of Intoxicated Minors,” “Immunity and Mental Health Professionals,” and “The Politics of Fear: The Dubious Logic Underlying Sex Offender Registration Statutes”.  Judge Huffman is an NJC alumna and joined the NJC faculty in 2016.  
 

In 2021, 13,384 people died in traffic crashes involving an alcohol impaired driver in the United States—almost 1/3 of all traffic fatalities that year. Section 49.04 of the Texas Penal Code, the Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) law, seems straightforward on its face: “A person commits an offense if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place.” It is, however, anything but straightforward. The elements of DWI have been the subject of appellate review for decades. This course will explain the elements of DWI in vivid detail while taking the audience on an adventure through time to examine how intermediate courts of appeal in Texas all the way through the United States Supreme Court have determined what constitutes DWI—and what does not.

Powerpoint handout

Speakers

Ned Minevitz, Program Attorney & Senior TxDOT Grant Administrator, TMCEC - Hailing from Massachusetts, Ned Minevitz has worked at the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center since November 2013 where he currently serves as Program Attorney & Senior TxDOT Grant Administrator. His focus areas are transportation, traffic safety, and drug and alcohol impairment issues. He received his B.A. in 2007 from Connecticut College where he majored in East Asian Studies. In 2013, he earned his J.D. from Arizona State University where he participated in the patent clinic. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, golf, and cooking. 

Thomas Velez, Managing Counsel, Texas Indigenous People's Caucus - Thomas currently serves as Managing Counsel for the Texas Indigenous People’s Caucus. His legal career began as a criminal prosecutor in Bexar County and where he served for 10 years before joining TMCEC where he served as Program Attorney & Deputy Counsel until 2024. He prosecuted municipal, misdemeanor, and felony cases during his trial career. As a prosecutor his specialty was prosecuting and training on domestic violence, trauma informed response and investigation, and sex crimes against adults and children. He developed specialty domestic violence units Hidalgo and Williamson County and a Specialty domestic violence misdemeanor Court. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio and majored in Criminal Justice. He was a paralegal before attending law school and became a licensed attorney in 2012. 

Join us for a breakfast buffet in the Century Ballroom. 

Visit the Impaired Driving Symposium vendors on your break. 

Impaired driving disproportionately impacts many communities that may be underserved by many existing impaired driving programs and resources. Learn about the Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (H.E.A.T.) program - an Afro-centric, trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy approach. Representatives from Missouri will discuss this program, and identify alternatives to clinical treatment and incarceration for high-risk Black males in the justice system.

Powerpoint handout

Speakers

The Honorable Casey Clevenger is the Treatment Court Commissioner for the 13^th Judicial Circuit, State of Missouri.  She was appointed to preside over the Treatment Courts in 2015.  She presides over Adult Drug Courts, DWI Courts, Mental Health Court, Veterans Treatment Court, Co-occurring Court and Family Treatment Court.  Prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and handled cases involving domestic and sexual violence, controlled substances and impaired driving.   Commissioner Clevenger is the President of the Missouri Association of Treatment Court Professionals.  She also serves as the American Bar Association Judicial Outreach Liaison for Missouri.  Her Drug Court was the recipient of the 2021 Equity and Inclusion award at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals RISE21 Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. 

Darryl P. Turpin is currently a Co-Principal for a social justice firm, The Pinwheel Group. He is the principle investigator for clinical research with young black men in the criminal justice system. Formally he was the Coordinator for the City of Louisville, Kentucky, Department of Public Health and Wellness, Men’s Health initiative. His work included oversight of the African American Male Empowerment Network. He is the immediate past chair of the Thurgood Marshall Action Coalition (TMAC), addressing inequities in the criminal justice system across the country. 

His prior work experience has been as Senior Technical Associate with The MayaTech Corporation located in Silver Spring, Maryland.  He was the Branch Manager of Program Development for the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice.  He provided oversight to various programs across the state of Kentucky, including the coordination of Prevention Councils, Mentoring Programs, Faith-Based Initiatives and Disproportionate Minority Confinement.  Mr. Turpin was also the Director of the Drug Court Programs Office in Louisville, Kentucky where he provided oversight to adult drug courts, reentry and the Second Chance program.  He also developed and coordinated the juvenile drug court, family drug court and the Turning it Around Fatherhood Program.

As a Consultant, Mr. Turpin has worked with the Native American Alliance Foundation and provided technical assistance to Tribal Nations across the United States. Mr. Turpin also serves as faculty member for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and the National Drug Court Institute, faculty member for the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Kentucky School of Alcohol and Drug Studies, National Black Addictions Institute and the Treating People of Color Conference.  He serves as consultant to American University, National Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes (TASC), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). 

Mr. Turpin holds a bachelor’s degree in social work as well as a master’s degree in public administration from Kentucky State University.

The presentation will cover the steps Denton PD followed to establish an in-house phlebotomy program for DWI offenses. They will cover the issues leading to the need for the program, challenges faced in setting the program up, and initial first year results. They will also go over how they utilized TXDOT Traffic Safety Grant funding to pay for the project.

Powerpoint handout

Speakers

Sgt. Briggs is a 30-year veteran of Denton PD. He holds a Master Peace Officers certification through TCOLE and a Bachelor of Criminal Justice from Lamar University. He has over 4,000 hours of in-service training and is a licensed TCOLE instructor focusing on Traffic Law, DWI, Emergency Vehicle Operations, and Firearms Training. The majority of his career has been in field-based positions in Patrol and Traffic. He has experience in narcotics and crimes against persons as well. 

Blake Jackson has worked for the Denton Police Department since 2014 and promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2019.   He is an SFST instructor and DRE.  Blake frequently teaches DWI related classes in an academy and in-service setting.   Blake is a lifelong student and is currently earning a doctor in criminal justice with a research focus on Cannabis’ effect on the human body.  

By examining situations that judges encounter in real life, this class will identify and explore the proper impaired driving procedures. Topics will include bond condition requirements, issues with ignition interlock devices, and masking.

Powerpoint Handout

Answers will be uploaded after class on this webpage 

Speakers

John Lackey is a staff attorney at the Texas Justice Court Training Center. Before coming to the Training Center, he worked as a hearing officer for the Texas Workforce Commission, a bankruptcy associate at Padgett Law Group, and as a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Northwest Texas in Dallas. Mr. Lackey received his J.D. from The University of Tulsa College of Law and attended The University of Texas at Dallas where he received his B.A. in Psychology.

Laura Weiser- Impaired Driving Judicial Resource Liaison, Texas Center for the Judiciary
Judge Weiser served as the judge of County Court at Law No. 1 in Victoria County, Texas for 22 years. She retired from that position February 28, 2013 and joined the Texas Center for the Judiciary as the Judicial Resource Liaison. The responsibilities of the Judicial Resource Liaison include assisting the DWI Curriculum Committee in developing and presenting programs to the judiciary that include the latest information on changes to laws regarding impaired driving, license suspension, alcohol monitoring technologies and conditions of probation and sentencing; conducting training for DWI Court teams; maintaining the DWI Resources website; hosting the DWI Court judges LISTSERV; providing technical assistance to judges throughout the state in the area of impaired driving; sitting as a visiting judge in DWI Courts or impaired driving cases and collaborating with judges, TxDOT partners, other criminal justice professionals and the legislature. Judge Weiser is a past chair of the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Center for the Judiciary. She is also an ex- officio member of the Curriculum Committees for the Texas Center for the Judiciary. She is a former board member of the Texas Judicial Council, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, the Texas Judicial Foundation, the Juvenile Justice Committee for the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Advisory Board of the Police Academy at Victoria College, Victoria Women’s Crisis Center, the Advisory Council for the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, Junior League of Victoria, Texas, Inc. and the Criminal Justice Section of the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas. Judge Weiser received the Friend of Education Award from the Victoria Classroom Teachers’ Association for 1991-1992 and 1992-1993 and was named as a South Texas Woman of the Year in 1998. She was the recipient of the 2007 Clayton Morrison Award for outstanding service to the children of Texas by the Texas Institute on Children and Youth. She received the Judicial Excellence through Education Award from the Texas Center for the Judiciary in 2008 and 2017 and the Chair’s Award of Excellence in 2013. Judge Weiser was the recipient of the Justice Charles W. Barrow Award from the Texas Association for Court Administration and the Judiciary Service Award from MADD in 2017. Judge Weiser is married to Judge Juan Velasquez III and has two children and five adorable grandchildren.