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Drug Courts: A Revolution in Criminal Justice

NCJ Number
180426
Date Published
1999
Length
48 pages
Annotation
This booklet profiles drug courts as a "criminal justice revolution" and a grassroots phenomenon, followed by a review of the evolution of drug courts and their key components.
Abstract
Drug courts offer an alternative to individuals whose criminal behavior stems from drug use: court-supervised treatment. In exchange for successfully completing treatment, the court may dismiss the original charge, reduce or set aside the sentence, offer a lesser penalty, or dispense any combination of these options. In the decade since the first drug courts opened, this entirely new approach to case processing has revolutionized traditional attitudes toward criminal justice. Judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys have changed preconceived notions of their roles. No longer vested in the adversarial process that historically has defined them, they have instead taken responsibility for ensuring that offenders in drug courts give up drugs and criminal activity. In this new proactive vision of justice, success is measured not by how many cases are closed, but rather by how well an addicted defendant adheres to the strict requirements of court-supervised treatment. All drug court personnel work as a team, so that when offenders "graduate," they all share in the affirmation that this approach is working. Drug courts identify eligible participants early in case processing for immediate referral to the program. After referral to a continuum of treatment and rehabilitation services, abstinence is monitored by frequent drug testing. Case management requires ongoing judicial interaction with participants to determine progress and evaluate the achievement of program goals by the offender as well as the effectiveness of the treatment provided. Effective drug court planning is promoted through interdisciplinary education of the planning teams. The work of drug courts is facilitated by partnerships among drug courts, public agencies, and community-based organizations. 29 bibliographic resources and 9 organizational resources

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