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Criminal-Defense
Articles > Drug Courts
Drug
Courts
A drug court can be defined as "a special court given
the responsibility to handle cases involving drug-addicted
offenders through an extensive supervision and treatment program.
Drug court participants undergo
long-term treatment and counseling, sanctions, incentives,
and frequent court appearances. Successful completion of the
treatment program results in dismissal of the charges, reduced
or set aside sentences, lesser penalties, or a combination
of these. Most importantly, graduating participants gain the
necessary tools to rebuild their lives.
Because the problem of drugs
and crime is much too broad for any single agency to tackle
alone, drug courts rely upon the daily communication and cooperation
of judges, court personnel, probation, and treatment providers.
Drug courts vary somewhat from
one jurisdiction to another in terms of structure, scope,
and target populations, but they all share three primary goals:
(1) to reduce recidivism,
(2) to reduce substance abuse among participants, and
(3) to rehabilitate participants.
Achieving these goals requires
a special organizational structure. Specifically, the drug
court model includes the following key components:
- Incorporating drug testing
into case processing.
- Creating a non-adversarial
relationship between the defendant and the court.
- Identifying defendants in
need of treatment and referring them to treatment as soon
as possible after arrest.
- Providing access to a continuum
of treatment and rehabilitation services.
- Monitoring abstinence through
frequent, mandatory drug testing.
- Establishing a coordinated
strategy to govern drug court responses to participants'
compliance.
- Maintaining judicial interaction
with each drug court participant.
- Monitoring and evaluating
program goals and gauging their effectiveness.
- Continuing interdisciplinary
education to promote effective drug court planning, implementation,
and operations.
- Forging partnerships among
drug courts, public agencies, and community-based organizations
to generate local support and enhance drug court effectiveness.
The first drug court was implemented
in 1989 in Miami, Florida when Judge Herbert M. Klein, troubled
by the disabling effects that drug offenses were wreaking upon
Dade County courts, became determined to "solve the problem
of larger numbers of people on drugs." The court became
a model program for the Nation.
Indeed, the outbreak of drug
courts in recent years has been extraordinary. As of May 2004,
there were 1,160 drug courts operating in all 50 States, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and 2 Federal Districts.
Another 517 drug courts programs were in the planning stages.
An important force behind the drug court movement was the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which
called for Federal support for planning, implementing, and
enhancing drug courts for nonviolent drug offenders. Between
1995 and 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, through its Drug Courts Program Office (DCPO), provided
$56 million in funding to drug courts.
The drug court model has paved
the way for the latest criminal justice innovation- therapeutic
jurisprudence. A number of jurisdictions are developing special
dockets, modeled after the drug court format. Courts and judges
have become more receptive to new approaches, resulting in
a proliferation of problem-solving courts, including DUI courts,
domestic violence courts, mental health courts and re-entry
courts.
Further reading resources
Drug Court Facts
Drug courts represent the coordinated efforts of the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, ...
National Drug Court Institute
National Association of Drug Court Professionals and National Drug Court Institute.
Office of National Drug Control Policy - Drug Courts
Drug court diverts non-violent, substance abusing offenders from prison and jail into treatment. By increasing direct supervision of offenders, ...
Drug court - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Drug courts are specialized courts designed to handle cases involving offenders who abuse addictive substances. The judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, ...
NCJRS - National Criminal Justice Reference Service - In the Spotlight
Provides information on the topic of drug courts, including links to publications, statistics, legislation, training opportunities, and other resources.
Welcome to NADCP and NDCI
National Association of Drug Court Professionals and National Drug Court ... Drug Court Funding · 2008 NADCP Annual Training Conference ? St. Louis, MO ...
What Are Drug Courts & Why Do We Need Them?
With over 2000 drug courts in existence or being planned, there is a great deal of bi-partisan interest in drug courts across the nation. ...
Drug Court Programs
The mission of drug courts is to stop the abuse of alcohol and other drugs and related criminal activity. Drug courts are a highly specialized team process ...
Kentucky: Court of Justice - Overview
Drug Court Program has been helping people rid their lives of the influence of ... Drug Court is a supervised program that successfully combines a strong ...
Programs: Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program
Note: This solicitation is for adult drug courts only. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention administers and funds juvenile and family ...
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