If you ever make the mistake of drinking and driving, you may end up facing not only a judge, but hundreds of eighth-graders at Oxford Middle School.
Instead of her usual courtroom at the 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills, Judge Julie A. Nicholson brought her court to the Commons Area at OMS on Thursday, Jan. 10 for the Court in Schools/Making Critical Life Choices program
Two men, one 24-year-old and the other 17, and their lawyers were brought before the judge for their alcohol-related offenses, and were sentenced to 12-months of probation, community service and various fines.
The 24-year-old was on trial for driving a vehicle while intoxicated. The 17-year-old also committed a DWI, but was involved in an accident where he hit a structure. He was kicked off his high school football team and his parents wouldn’t allow him to go away to college as punishment.
‘It’s not worth it,? he told the judge. ‘One drink is too much.?
After the trials, Nicholson spoke with the students about the consequences of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
To show how alcohol can affect one’s driving ability, Det. Ron Tuski of the Auburn Hills Police Department conducted field sobriety tests, such as walking a straight line and catching a pen in mid-air, with student volunteers.
The students were given goggles that showed what small and large amounts of alcohol would do to impair their vision. Of course, it was very hard to complete the tasks.
The program wrapped with a powerful message from Det. Tuski, who showed the students slides of drunken driving accidents from his years of service on the roads.
The final slide that he showed was of an accident that occurred when a drunken driver ran a stop sign and struck a vehicle carrying his parents and younger brother, who all died in the accident.