Impaired Driving Symposium

• Day 1 Program Agenda - Wednesday, July 30th

  • 11:00 - 12:45 p.m. - Registration

    Registration will be located in the Pioneer Foyer. Come sign-in and get your name badge before the program. 

    Hotel check-in isn't until 3:00 p.m. but the hotel will be able to store your luggage until then. 

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  • 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch

    A lunch buffet will be available in Pioneer 4. Grab a plate and then head to your set in the Pioneer 1/2/3 Ballroom.

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  • 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Exhibit Hall hours

    Visit the Impaired Driving Symposium vendors on your break. 

  • 12:45 - 1:00 p.m. - Opening Remarks

    Welcoming you to the program will be:

    • Laura Weiser, Judicial Resource Liaison at the Texas Center for the Judiciary

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  • 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. - K-9 Searches & Impaired Driving

    K9 Searches & Impaired Driving

    This course will feature a narcotics sniffing dog demonstration and cover the Fourth Amendment concerns related to traffic stops and the use of canines to detect contraband, particularly illegal drugs.

    Course handout - Available soon!

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    Speakers

    
    Over the last 16 years, Steven Antommarchi has held the law enforcement titles of patrol officer, canine handler, canine supervisor, canine trainer, and Chief of Police. He is a Certifying Official and the Law Enforcement Secretary for the disciplines of Narcotics, Patrol, Tracking, Personal Protection, Electronic Storage Device Detection, Person-Borne IED, and Explosives Detection for the American Working Dog Association. K9 Officer Antommarchi’s first encounter with a K9 team was in New York City on September 11th, 2001. As a young man trying to wrap his mind around the tragedy, he encountered a search-and-rescue K9 team fighting through horrible conditions at Ground Zero, overcoming serious injury to save the lives of others. The encounter made a profound impression on him. At that moment, he knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. 15 years later, on July 7th, 2016, in Dallas, Texas. K9 Officer Antommarchi found himself in the middle of the deadliest attack on law enforcement since 9/11. Tasked with the responsibility of clearing the downtown area of improvised explosive devices in an effort to safeguard lives. The reason he got into working K9s came full circle. Officer Antommarchi travels across the world training local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and military personnel. Focusing on the science of K9 training, certifications, tactics, and the legalities of deploying a K9. He is the founder of Next Level K9 Texas, Next Level K9 LLC, Next Level K9 Response Team, and the host of the Next Level Podcast.

    Randy Angle is an officer with the Corinth, Texas Police Department.
     

  • 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Intersection of Mental Health and Impaired Driving

    Intersection of Mental Health and Impaired Driving

    A significant number of first-time and repeat offenders struggle with substance use or mental health issues that can impair their ability to carry out daily tasks such as driving. If left unaddressed, these problems can worsen over time and increase the likelihood of repeat DWI crashes on Texas roads. This session will discuss the role of mental health treatment and support services in reducing DWI offenses and explore evidence-based treatments and interventions that address the intersection of mental health and substance abuse.

    Course handout - Available soon!

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    Speaker

    Cinthya Fillips is a dedicated leader and researcher at the intersection of traffic safety, public health, and criminal justice. As Director of the Center for Alcohol and Drug Education Studies (CADES) at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), she spearheads initiatives aimed at reducing impaired driving and fostering long-term behavioral change among justice-involved individuals.

    With expertise in traffic safety, criminal desistance, behavioral health, and evidence-based interventions, Cinthya develops and implements programs to enhance the effectiveness of justice professionals in addressing mental health and substance use disorders. Her work includes creating specialized curricula for jailers, judges, prosecutors, and community supervision stakeholders, equipping them with the tools to improve screening, assessment, and referral practices for individuals with DWI offenses.

    She currently serves as Co-Principal Investigator on the 24/7 Sobriety Monitoring Project and has led extensive training efforts to promote mental health literacy within the criminal justice system. Cinthya holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Public Administration from Texas A&M University, as well as a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health. As a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPC-A), she integrates clinical insight with policy-driven research to drive impactful change in the traffic safety community and institutional settings.

     

• Day 2 Program Agenda - Thursday, July 31st

  • 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. - Breakfast

    Breakfast is served in the Embassy Suites buffet breakfast area. If you are not staying at the hotel, see your training center staff for a ticket.

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  • 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Exhibit Hall hours

    Visit the Impaired Driving Symposium vendors on your break. 

  • 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. - DRE: Spit happens! On purpose!

    DRE: Spit happens! On purpose!

    Kansas recently began roadside testing for oral fluids.  This presentation will explain the journey to get to this point and the plans for expansion of oral fluid testing in the future.  

    Course handout - Available soon!

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    Speakers

     

     

  • 10:00 - 12:00 p.m. - Facilitated Scenarios

    Facilitated Scenarios

    By examining situations that judges encounter in real life, this class will identify and explore the proper impaired driving procedures. Topics will include bond condition requirements, issues with ignition interlock devices, and masking.

    Course handout - Available soon!

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    Speakers

    John Lackey is a staff attorney at the Texas Justice Court Training Center. Before coming to the Training Center, he worked as a hearing officer for the Texas Workforce Commission, a bankruptcy associate at Padgett Law Group, and as a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Northwest Texas in Dallas. Mr. Lackey received his J.D. from The University of Tulsa College of Law and attended The University of Texas at Dallas where he received his B.A. in Psychology.

    
    Laura Weiser- Impaired Driving Judicial Resource Liaison, Texas Center for the Judiciary
    Judge Weiser served as the judge of County Court at Law No. 1 in Victoria County, Texas for 22 years. She retired from that position February 28, 2013 and joined the Texas Center for the Judiciary as the Judicial Resource Liaison. The responsibilities of the Judicial Resource Liaison include assisting the DWI Curriculum Committee in developing and presenting programs to the judiciary that include the latest information on changes to laws regarding impaired driving, license suspension, alcohol monitoring technologies and conditions of probation and sentencing; conducting training for DWI Court teams; maintaining the DWI Resources website; hosting the DWI Court judges LISTSERV; providing technical assistance to judges throughout the state in the area of impaired driving; sitting as a visiting judge in DWI Courts or impaired driving cases and collaborating with judges, TxDOT partners, other criminal justice professionals and the legislature. Judge Weiser is a past chair of the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Center for the Judiciary. She is also an ex- officio member of the Curriculum Committees for the Texas Center for the Judiciary. She is a former board member of the Texas Judicial Council, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, the Texas Judicial Foundation, the Juvenile Justice Committee for the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Advisory Board of the Police Academy at Victoria College, Victoria Women’s Crisis Center, the Advisory Council for the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, Junior League of Victoria, Texas, Inc. and the Criminal Justice Section of the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas. Judge Weiser received the Friend of Education Award from the Victoria Classroom Teachers’ Association for 1991-1992 and 1992-1993 and was named as a South Texas Woman of the Year in 1998. She was the recipient of the 2007 Clayton Morrison Award for outstanding service to the children of Texas by the Texas Institute on Children and Youth. She received the Judicial Excellence through Education Award from the Texas Center for the Judiciary in 2008 and 2017 and the Chair’s Award of Excellence in 2013. Judge Weiser was the recipient of the Justice Charles W. Barrow Award from the Texas Association for Court Administration and the Judiciary Service Award from MADD in 2017. Judge Weiser is married to Judge Juan Velasquez III and has two children and five adorable grandchildren.

     

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