Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510090064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Fourteen people have entered the program, which allows some drug offenders to plead guilty shortly after their arrest and receive treatment instead of potential jail time. Another four offenders were being evaluated last week to determine if they were eligible.
Regional Drug Prosecutor Dennis Nagel said that, so far, Drug Court participants are doing better under the program's intense supervision and counseling than other drug offenders do on regular probation.
"Overall, I think it's been a real good start," Nagel said. But he and others cautioned that it will take longer than a month to judge the effectiveness of the program, which is the first of its kind in the state.
"I think it will probably be at least six months before we really have a strong feeling about it," Circuit Judge Diane Strickland said. But Strickland, who has been monitoring the progress of offenders who appear weekly in her courtroom, said she was encouraged by the results so far.
The program, which is not available to violent offenders or major drug dealers, is aimed at catching addicts shortly after their arrest - a time when they are most inclined to acknowledge their drug problem and seek help for it.
After pleading guilty in Drug Court, offenders enter a yearlong program to receive treatment, education, vocational training and other services at a day facility while reporting to court at least once a week for a judge to monitor their progress.
The program accommodates the work schedules of participants who have jobs, and tries to line up employment for those who do not.
If participants complete the program successfully, the drug charges against them will be dismissed. If they continue to use drugs or get arrested on a subsequent charge, they could be kicked out of the program and sent to jail.
So far, the most serious infraction was by a participant who failed to show up for his Drug Court session, then tested positive for cocaine when he reported to his probation officer later in the day. Strickland ordered him to spend the weekend in jail, but allowed him to remain in the program.
Offenders will not be kicked out of the program the first time they flunk a drug test, organizers say, although continued use could land them in trouble.
Some failures are expected, Public Defender Ray Leven said, and the philosophy of the program is "you don't wash your hands of these people" the first time they test positive for drug use.
Drug court organizers did not envision a particular number of participants in the first month, but they hope the program will handle about 125 offenders a year when it's running at full capacity.
Nagel, who has the authority to prevent someone from entering the program, said he has done that in a few cases where offenders had long criminal records.
But he has also approved at least one person who was charged with drug dealing. In that case, he said, it was clear that the person was selling to support his own habit and was not profiting from the deals.
The Drug Court will continue to reject dealers "who are driving BMWs and making money off of it," Nagel said.
David L. Thompson, on the other hand, was described by his lawyer as "the perfect example" of someone that the Drug Court was designed for.
Thompson was a small-time drug user who was caught buying drugs for his own use, according to defense attorney John Gregory of Salem. Thompson's criminal record consisted of two misdemeanor marijuana charges, and he had a steady job that enabled him to support a family.
Jailing Thompson for a simple possession charge would do little good for him or the community, Gregory said.
Putting Thompson in Drug Court, he said, "gives him a second chance, it saves the taxpayers the cost of incarcerating him for who knows how long, and it gives us a chance to help him beat his addiction."
by CNB