New Law Increases Sentences for Repeat Drunk Drivers Who Kill

Gov. Pete Wilson signed legislation Thursday to more than double prison terms for repeat drunk drivers involved in fatal accidents, saying that “from now on, the punishment will match the crime.”

The bill, known as “Courtney’s law,” was named for 15-year-old Courtney Cheney of Roseville, who was killed last year by a drunk driver with four prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The new law imposes prison sentences of 15 years to life for motorists convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter who have two or more previous convictions for drunk driving or one prior conviction for vehicular manslaughter or a similar charge.

“A drunken driver is more than an accident waiting to happen. You’re a loaded weapon,” Wilson said. “We are sending a message to California motorists, one we hope will scare them sober.”

In a bill-signing ceremony in Wilson’s office, Suzanne Meyer, Courtney’s mother, said it was “both a happy and sad day for us,” sad because she still mourns her daughter’s death, but happy because her name will be memorialized in a law that will save lives.

Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame), principal author of the bill, described it as a three-strikes law for serious drunk driving offenders.

She said current law will let the driver who killed Courtney out of jail in 5 1/2 years.

“Everything we can do to stop the slaughter must be done,” Speier said. “Pure and simple, Courtney’s law takes problem drunken drivers off the road and puts them behind the bars where alcohol is never served.”