Legal Ease by Shane Givens
March 14, 2011

What is drug court?

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I often am asked by clients, “What is drug court, what do I have to do, and how do I qualify?”

Drug court is a sentencing alternative to help those with drug or drug-related problems to stay out of more trouble. Cherokee and DeKalb are two of the most progressive counties when it comes to drug court and alternative sentencing. One reason is that District Attorney Mike O'Dell and his staff, along with law enforcement, judges, and other court officials, are concerned not only with enforcing drug laws, but also helping those with drug problems. It's kind of like the “teach a man to fish” philosophy – send a person to prison for a drug crime and they are likely to get out and commit more; teach a person that he or she can live a productive, happy, drug-free life and maybe they won't commit crimes in the future.

Deputy District Attorney Bob Johnston recently circulated among local lawyers the following breakdowns of each type of available drug court program in this jurisdiction:

_ Track One (Drug Court): This option may be available to first-time offenders struggling with addiction who have committed a simple possession case or non-violent property felony. They have the opportunity to complete the drug court program and have their plea set aside and their case dismissed.

_ Track Two (Alternative Sentencing Court): This option may be available to drug or property offenders who have a non-violent criminal history or have a manufacturing case for predominately personal use. These cases are only admitted with the consent of the drug task force agent where evidence indicated the offender is non-violent.

_ Track Three (Community Corrections Court): This option is for drug or property offenders who have proved to be non-violent but repeat their criminal activity and drug addiction. These offenders have proved unsuccessful with less restrictive measures. Many have been revoked from probation and placed in the community corrections program. Their main reward is remaining in society as long as they remain compliant while getting credit on their sentence as if they were behind bars.
 
Basic Drug Court requirements include attending AA or NA meetings, submitting to random drug testing, abiding by all court orders, paying all drug court fees, and attending drug treatment sessions, among others.

Further, a participant in any track has to go through five phases of completion. Each “phase-up” works to reward the participant by not requiring as much work as the previous phase.

Anyone interested in learning more about drug court may contact an attorney or call 256-927-3111 and speak with Terry Patty, Cherokee County's Court Referral director and Drug Court supervisor.

This column is intended for general information purposes only. The answers to most legal problems rely on specific facts of a particular situation; therefore, it is very important to see a lawyer when these situations arise. 

Please e-mail questions for future columns to givenslaw@tds.net.