WASHINGTON, DC — The Century Council’s “Hardcore Drunk Driving Judicial Guide—A Resource Outlining Judicial Challenges, Effective Strategies and Model Programs” won the Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement Award at the Governors Highway Safety Association conference today in Portland, Oregon. The Century Council is a national not-for-profit organization funded by America’s leading distillers including- Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands, Inc.; DIAGEO; Future Brands LLC; Hood River Distillers, Inc; and Sidney Frank Importing Co. Inc., and is dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking. The Council develops and implements innovative programs, including the hardcore drunk driving judicial education project, to help judges effectively adjudicate hardcore drunk driving cases.

This ambitious judicial education effort was born out of American judges’ and public safety officials’ frustration with a growing judicial education gap. The Century Council’s Judicial Education Project, developed with the assistance of the National Association of State Judicial Educators, helps to fill this gap.

As a first step in the project, leading American judicial educators and jurists formed a panel and met at the first ever Hardcore Drunk Driver Judicial Education Summit. The outcome of the Summit was the publication of a practical, accessible judicial resource entitled, “The Hardcore Drunk Driving Judicial Guide—A Resource Outlining Judicial Challenges, Effective Strategies and Model Programs.” The guide draws heavily on the practical experiences of leading judges in applying innovative strategies to reduce recidivism. It also highlights current research about hardcore drunk drivers.

The Century Council launched an aggressive judicial education outreach campaign, during which panel members traveled to various state annual judicial conferences to conduct workshops instructing judges on how to apply the Judicial Guide’s practical recommendations.

The Judicial Education Project has instructed more than 2,000 American trial court judges regarding proven strategies for reducing impaired driving recidivism. The project represents a comprehensive effort to provide state judges with the skills to swiftly identify, punish with certainty and effectively treat hardcore drunk drivers. It also marks the first occasion in which all of America’s leading judicial education stakeholders collaboratively directed their collective resources toward addressing this compelling public safety problem.

“On behalf of the distilled spirits companies that fund us, The Century Council is honored to receive the Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement Award from the Governors Highway Safety Association for our Hardcore Drunk Driving Judicial Guide. We are proud to be recognized by experts in the field of highway safety for this resource which addresses the complexities in courts of reducing drunk driving,” said Susan Molinari, Chairman of The Century Council.