Local News

How can Washington state reduce drunken driving?

The Legislature is weighing that question now in the aftermath of two high-profile crashes that killed three people and injured two others.

On Thursday at noon, Seattle Times readers are invited to chat online with a state lawmaker and a DUI defense attorney about various proposals to crack down on drunken driving, from banning DUI offenders from buying alcohol to establishing random sobriety checkpoints.

Here is more information about the participants:

Brad Klippert is the ranking Republican on the state House Public Safety Committee, which is considering a proposal to overhaul Washington’s drunken-driving laws. As a ranking member, Klippert is one of five lawmakers who have been working with Gov. Jay Inslee on the proposal. Klippert represents the 8th District, which includes Kennewick, Richland and West Richland. He has taught at several levels, is a helicopter pilot with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard and is  a 19-year law enforcement officer currently working for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.Here is more information about the participants:

Patricia Fulton is a Seattle criminal defense lawyer with the Law Offices of Geoffrey Burg, LCC and a member of Washington state’s Impaired Driving Working Group, which has worked to overhaul DUI laws since its formation in 2007. Fulton has worked in criminal defense for 14 years; about half of her clients are accused of drunken driving. She serves as co-chair of the legislative committees of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Washington Defenders Association.

Moderator Brian M. Rosenthal is a staff reporter in The Seattle Times Olympia bureau.