July 17-20, 2011
Call for Proposals Due September 24, 2010
Research Proves Drug Courts following
are most effective.
The Drug Court Judge
Drug Court participants appear regularly before a specially trained judge who oversees their case.
The Drug Court Team
In Drug Court, Judges, Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, Case Managers, Law Enforcement, Probation & Parole Officers, CPS Case Workes, and Treatment Providers review every individual case and work together.
How Drug Courts Work
Eligible drug-addicted persons may be sent to Drug Court in lieu of traditional justice system case processing. Drug Courts keep individuals in treatment long enough for it to work, while supervising them closely. For a minimum term of one year, participants are:
- provided with intensive treatment and other services they require to get and stay clean and sober;
- held accountable by the Drug Court judge for meeting their obligations to the court, society, themselves and their families;
- regularly and randomly tested for drug use;
- required to appear in court frequently so that the judge may review their progress; and
- rewarded for doing well or sanctioned when they do not live up to their obligations.
Who is Eligible
Eligibility for Drug Court varies according to state and local guidelines, and on the type of Drug Court model (For example, currently most Drug Courts in the nation are adult criminal Drug Courts, which, along with DWI Courts, function within the adult criminal justice system and target adult offenders. Family Drug Court participants, however, are parents facing child abuse/neglect charges in civil court. For more information, see Drug Court Models).
Some state legislatures or regulatory bodies have created eligibility guidelines for drug courts. Although eligibility guidelines vary, most Drug Courts do not consider violent offenders. Adult criminal Drug Courts usually consider both drug and drug-driven offenses. And where offenses involve victims, the consent of the victim and payment of restitution is typically mandatory. If you wish to find more information on a specific court’s eligibility guidelines, see the National Drug Court Map for contact information on the court.
What Drug Courts Do
Drug Courts are the most effective justice intervention for treating drug-addicted people. Drug Courts reduce drug use. Drug Courts reduce crime. Drug Courts save money. Drug Courts restore lives. Drug Courts save children and reunite families.
What Drug Courts Need
Drug Courts serve a fraction of the estimated 1.2 million drug-addicted people currently involved in the justice system. To truly break the cycle of drugs and crime in America, we must put a Drug Court within reach of every American in need.
Events & Conferences
Headlines
Medical marijuana is legal in 14 states, and advocates would like to expand that or legalize pot altogether. But the judges, lawyers and therapists who work in drug courts say the criminal justice system has helped addicts turn their lives around.
US Attorney General Eric H. Holder, speaking in Boston yesterday at the nation’s largest conference on drugs and crime, said drug courts play a key role in rehabilitating addicts and reducing crime and should be available to more people, especially juveniles.
At the state level, special courts to deal with the problems of veterans are being formed across the nation, modeled on the special courts to deal with drug and mental health issues. Twenty-one veterans courts are in operation, said West Huddleston, the chief executive officer of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.
Drug courts seem to be that vanishingly rare thing in Washington: an issue with near consensus.