The two principal components of the model are the role of officials in the courtroom and the operation of a specially adapted program of outpatient drug abuse treatment; the hands- on judicial role central to the program makes it unique among drug court initiatives. At times, these two components conflict in terms of their aims regarding drug involvement and its reduction. Evaluators compared case outcomes and criminal reinvolvement of a cohort of 326 felony defendants over an 18- month observation period. Results are discussed in terms of the scope of the program, impact on the criminal caseload, impact on criminal processing, treatment program performance, use of short-term pretrial detention to support program participation, and rearrest and failure to attend court. This article also examines policy issues relating to selection and extension of a target population for the drug court program and illustrates the need to differentiate among types of defendants in planning effective and efficient treatment programs. 7 tables, 11 figures, 23 notes, and 21 references