D.A. Rice: driving force behind safer roads

I've recently written a series of articles chronicling what it's like to be arrested for drunk driving in Nassau County. Though I've had the participation of the district attorney's office, Nassau County police and a number of defense attorneys, as well as input from many readers, one voice has been noticeably absent.

Until now.

In Nassau County, District Attorney Kathleen Rice is practically synonymous with DWI law. When Rice took office in 2006, the county took notice. She quickly earned a reputation for being tough. She was both praised and criticized for her reorganization of the D.A.'s office. Many called her too harsh, unfair and unsympathetic. Others thought her hard line was what the county needed.

Since then, Rice has become known for her laser-like focus on getting tough on DWI offenders. She describes criticism of her as a barometer indicating that she is doing her job well. And she recently campaigned for re-election on her success in reforming DWI laws in the county and state, emerging not only victorious, but also as one of the Democrats' few shining stars on Election Day.

A vision for Nassau

When Rice sat down for a Herald interview, there was one question that I, and many others, wanted answered more than any other. So many people in Nassau County are curious about why she has focused so much time and energy on stopping drunken driving.

According to Rice, the crime is almost as ubiquitous as cancer, and far too many on Long Island have been touched by it. She said she happens to be one of the fortunate ones who has never been personally affected by the crime.

Rice has spent her career "sitting down with victims of crimes and being a voice for people who don't have a voice," she said. In 2005, the year she was first elected, DWI was a hot-button issue in Nassau County. One of the most horrific DWI crashes in county history had recently made headlines, when Martin Heidgen, 24, drove drunk in the wrong direction on the Meadowbrook Parkway and smashed into a limousine carrying members of the Flynn family home from a wedding. The driver, Stanley Rabinowitz, and 7-year-old Katie Flynn were killed instantly. Katie was decapitated. In her large Mineola office, Rice reflected on the experience. "I met with the family, and it's hard to meet with the family and not feel absolutely overcome by their grief," she said. "It was very clear to me that we needed to be aggressive in this prosecution because of the extenuating circumstances of the case."

Rice's office prosecuted Heidgen for second-degree murder under the depraved indifference statute. The guilty verdict was the first of its kind, and changed the way drunken-driving offenses could be prosecuted throughout the state. The case -- and Rice -- attracted the nation’s attention when she was interviewed on CBS's "60 Minutes."

Stopping DWI for good

“The problem in our society is that people do not think that drinking and driving is criminal,” Rice told me. “They think it's wrong; they think people shouldn't do it. But when it comes to thinking it's a crime, people don't put this crime on the same level as they do, say, grand larceny or petit larceny, or any other crime. Our taking and holding more drunk drivers accountable is all part of the comprehensive approach that we've built to make that cultural shift where people do start to see it as a crime.”

Her goal, she said, is to eliminate drunken driving. Whether it is through technology -- such as ignition interlock devices, of which she is a proponent -- harsher punishments or more intensive education, Rice believes the crime can be wiped out.

Asked if she thought there would be any serious obstacles to meeting her goal, she became more emotional than at any other time during our interview, but answered, simply, "No."