Drunk Driver Is Ordered Closer to Liquor Store

An Ohio judge has thrown the address book at a chronic drunk driver, ordering the man to move within easy walking distance of a liquor store or face up to 1 1/2 years in jail.

In a sentence meted out on New Year’s Eve, Hillsboro Municipal Judge James Hapner also ordered Dennis Cayse to spend the first week of each of the next five years in jail.

The judge also directed that Cayse be handcuffed to the passenger-side door or be seated with someone between him and the driver when he travels.

It was the 18th drunk driving conviction for Cayse, who lost his license years ago but continued to drive anyway.

The relocation order requires Cayse to move within “easy walking distance,” defined as one-half mile or less, of a liquor store within 30 days.

University of Cincinnati law professor Christo Lassiter said the multiple sentence passed constitutional muster.

“It appears to me that this sentence is neither unconstitutional nor inappropriate,” Lassiter said Friday. “It looks to me like the judge felt that there was nothing he could do to keep the man off the road except to make him move to where he could walk to buy his booze.”

Others weren’t quite so charitable about the sentence in Hillsboro, a town of 6,000 just east of Cincinnati.

“For as long as I have been associated with law enforcement, I have never heard of such an unusual sentence. It’s very squirrelly,” said Lt. Ronald Ward of the Highland County Sheriff’s Office.

A spokeswoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving denounced the sentence for being too lenient and for sending the wrong public message.