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Special DUI Court Proposed for Sussex County

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DOVER, Del. (AP) - The Delaware Department of Justice thinks the state's southernmost county needs a specialized court to deal with drunken driving cases.

The Delaware State News reported Sunday that while DUI cases in Kent and New Castle counties have dropped by more than half in the past 10 years, Sussex County hasn't followed suit. Delaware Department of Justice spokesman Carl Kanefsky tells the newspaper DUI arrests there are "disproportionately and unacceptably high."

The department says it sees a need for a specialized court and supports potential funding and resources to establish it.

According to the newspaper, while Sussex County has about 40 percent the population that New Castle does, it was the scene of more DUI arrests in 2017 to 2018.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.