Final Paper Drug Courts

Executive Summary The American court system is overflowed with people that suffer from substance abuse. For example drug and/or alcohol related crimes have been implicated in violent crimes, instances of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect cases. Therefore, drug court has come in to offer people arrested for substances abuse related crimes and opportunity to receive community-based treatment with judicial supervision to avoid potential incarceration. For this reason drug court has changed people’s lives in a variety of ways, which are often overlooked, are the positive impact on families and society. Overall, substance abuse offenders have a recurring problem for the criminal justice system as a result drug courts are an important strategy to reduce incarceration, provide drug treatment and reduce recidivism among nonviolent offenders. Another key point is research study by the National Institute of Justice in 2009 called the Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation confirmed that Drug Courts reduced crime and substance abuse, improved family relationships, and also increasing employment and school enrollment. (Marlowe, 2010) Another key point is drug courts have affected the offender’s criminal behavior and substance use with mandated drug and alcohol treatment. Henceforth drug courts has been a popular diversion program for drug offenders since it’s began in Dade County Florida in 1989.

Overview Drug courts represent the criminal justice approach to ensure public safety through close supervision and delivered by community-based treatment. Under the circumstances the state of New York has expanded drug courts into daily court operations Chief Judge Judith Kaye recognized the benefits of substances abuse treatment she ask that drug court be implemented in every jurisdiction in New York State . As of October 2009, Criminal Procedure Law, Article 216: A new law that authorizes eligible felony offender into the Judicial Diversion Program. As a result 146 drug courts are in operation, 90 in the criminal courts, 35 in the family courts, 6 in the town and village courts and 15 drug courts focused solely on juveniles. Overall, 85,415 have participated in New York State drug court programs and 38,185 have graduated. In addition, 833 drug-free-babies have been born to drug treatment court participants while in the program. Each drug court in New York is locally based and reflects the legal culture of the community. Support for the program comes from the local communities, the Unified Court System budget and the federal government. (NY Courts.gov, 2014) Drug Courts intention is to break the cycle of substance abuse and criminal activity of non-violent criminal offenders by offering eligible participants treatment and rehabilitation instead of traditional sanction of incarceration. As a result completing the program successfully could lead to suspension or dismissal of a criminal case or probation. Therefore the offender takes responsibility for their actions in return the offender turns their life around and becomes responsible, productive and drug free citizen.

Historical Data
Our nation’s prison population has exploded beyond capacity.
1 in 100 U.S. citizens is now confined in jail or prison.
The U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than 26 of the largest European nations combined.
Incarceration rates in the U.S. are nine times greater for young African-American men between the ages of 20 and 34 years.
Most inmates are in prison, at least in large part, because of substance abuse.
80 percent of offenders abuse drugs or alcohol.
Nearly 50 percent of jail and prison inmates are clinically addicted.
Approximately 60 percent of individuals arrested for most types of crimes test positive for illicit drugs at arrest.
Imprisonment has little effect on drug abuse.
60 to 80 percent of drug abusers commit a new crime typically a drug-driven crime after release from prison.
Approximately 95 percent return to drug abuse after release from prison.

Providing treatment without holding offenders accountable for their performance in treatment is ineffective.
Unless they are regularly supervised by a judge, 60 to 80 percent drop out of treatment prematurely and few successfully graduate.
Historical drug courts were created in Miami, Florida in 1989 to combat the increase of non-violent, substances abuse addicted offenders in the justice system. The courts were a response to the overwhelmed drug related cases and substance addicted offenders who continued to get rearrested for new drug related crimes. The Crime Act enacted in 1994, Congress authorized the attorney general to make funding available to States and Indian tribal governments to establish drug courts the approach is different form traditional court practice with the focus being on the habilitating the offender, holding the offender accountable for their actions and reducing recidivism. It is important to emphasize that drug courts have been address the issue of substances abuse and crime with the collaboration of law enforcement, attorneys, prosecutors, judges and treatment professionals to force abstinence, alter behavior along with sanctions, mandatory drug treatment, treatment and aftercare programs to help the offender reenter the community and teach responsibility for their actions.
Therefore the drug court model encourage participants’ continued compliance by providing incentives, such as fewer court appearances, fewer drug tests, and the dismissal of criminal charges or reduced or set aside sentences when the program is completed successfully. By having monitored long-term substance-abuse treatment in the criminal justice system and coercing abstinence from participants, drug courts seek to break the cycle of drug use and criminal drug related offends.
Current Situation
Certainly drug courts primary goal is to successfully treat substances addicted offenders. Early drug courts were to target non-violent and first-time offenders with great success research have suggested that drug courts have definitely made a positive impact on substances abuse offender with a non-violent felony criminal history. Drug courts are mostly initiated and funded at the state and local level, Congress has supported the development, implementation, and expansion of drug courts through the federal Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program, originally authorized under Title V of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 P.L. 103-322. (Franco, 2010) Under current circumstances in order for drug court program to receive federal funding non-violent felony offenders were excluded from participating in drug treatment programs. Although drug court has had great success with non-violent and first time offenders the issue continues on whether to exclusion non-violent felony offender from substance abuse treatment through drug courts.
Research suggests that expanding drug court eligibility to include offenders with more serious criminal histories could result in greater reduction in drug-related crime and incarceration as well as accountability for their criminally activities. (Franco, 2010) As states look for ways to save money and reduce offender drug use and recidivism, some see the federal funding exclusion of “non-violent felony offender” as a factor that is limiting the potential pool of participants for drug courts. Thus, the issue for Congress is whether drug court funding exclusion of non-violent felony offenders is a policy that continues to be the most effective way to reduce crime and substance abuse among offenders.

Conclusion
In the 1980s, with the increase usage of crack cocaine and powder, and the violence behavior associated with usage Congress established heavy penalties for drug offenses along with mandatory minimum sentences. As a result the first drug court was established 1989, to address the overwhelming numbers of low-risk repeat drug offenders who had substance abuse problems related crimes. Therefore eligible offenders received substance abuse treatment and other services in lieu of prosecution and/or incarceration.
Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam have operational drug court programs. The drug court model has been applied to certain subsets of drug offenders, such as juveniles and veterans. As of July 2009, there were 2,361 drug courts operating across the country, including:
1,281 adult drug courts
466 juvenile drug courts: programs that focus on juvenile delinquency, criminal matters and status offenses (e.g., truancy) that involve substance abusing juveniles.
304 family dependency treatment courts: programs that deal with cases involving parental rights, in which an adult is the party litigant, which come before the court through either the criminal or civil process, and which arise out of the substance abuse of a parent. These cases can include custody and visitation disputes; abuse, neglect, and dependency matters; petitions to terminate parental rights; guardianship proceedings; and other loss, restriction, or limitation of parental rights.
166 DWI (driving while intoxicated) or DUI (driving under the influence) courts: programs that provide substance-abuse interventions and treatment for defendants who plead guilty to driving while intoxicated or under the influence of an illegal substance.
83 tribal drug courts: programs that deal with substance-abusing adult, juvenile, and family tribal offenders; • 30 federal reentry courts: programs for federal offenders with documented substance-abuse problems who are on supervised release in the community and who volunteer to join the program.
21 state reentry drug courts: programs that provide reentry services aimed at reducing recidivism among low-level, drug-trafficking defendants, including close supervision, employment, education, parenting, and child support services, and that require participants to perform up to 220 hours of community service.
6 campus courts: programs targeting college students whose excessive use of substances has continued and had serious consequences for themselves or others. 4 veteran’s treatment courts: hybrid programs that combine drug and mental health court models to serve veterans with addiction, serious mental illness, and/or co-occurring disorders. These programs provide a coordinated response involving drug and mental health courts, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care networks, the Veterans’ Benefits Administration, volunteer veteran mentors and veterans and veterans’ family support organizations. (Franco, 2010)

According to research substance treatment seems to be the key to reducing recidivism and substance abuse for offenders. For example, the San Luis Obispo Adult Program graduated nineteen people graduated from its rigorous 18-month program to beat substances addiction and avoid lengthy jail sentence or worse. Each told their stories in front of some 350 family members, friends and strangers Friday at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Hall before receiving their certificate and moving on with their lives without their past addiction or criminal conviction hanging over them. Jacob Johnson’s past dependence on opiates ended in a 2011 conviction for felony burglary and receiving stolen property. Johnson, 29, said he resisted treatment as long as he could before finding accountability with his peers in the program and finally embracing sobriety. “Addiction wants to push the addict away from everybody who loves them,” Johnson said prior to the ceremony. “But I’m living clean because other people have shown me that it can be done.” (Fountain, 2014) In the finally analysis drug courts has been the country’s most successful in criminal justice program.

References

Franco, C. (2010, October 12). Drug Courts: Background, Effectiveness, and Policy Issues for Congress. Retrieved from http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41448.pdf
Fountain, M. (2014, May 5). Drug Court graduates celebrate recovery | Local News | SanLuisObispo. Retrieved from http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2014/05/06/3053546_adult-drug-court-graduation.html?rh=1 Marlowe, D. (2010, April). Drug Courts Save Lives and Money: So Why the Criticisms? | NADCP. Retrieved from http://www.nadcp.org/Drug%20Courts%20Save%20Lives%20and%20Money
Problem-Solving Courts - Drug Treatment Courts - Overview. (2014, August 5). Retrieved from http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/problem_solving/drugcourts/overview.shtml
The Facts on Drugs and Crime in America. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nadcp.org