Many policymakers believe that Drug Courts provide a viable alternative to incarceration for drug offenders who have no criminal background. In theory, Drug Courts also save money by keeping people out of jail. However, a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report has show that almost half of 32 Drug Courts included in a recent study did not reduce the re-arrest rates of their participants. The findings raise serious questions about the ability of the criminal justice system to mandate recovery for drug offenders.
Since the establishment of the first Drug Court in Florida in 1989, the goal of Drug Courts in the U.S. has been to help nonviolent drug offenders receive treatment instead of punishment. Drug Courts offer individuals who are criminally charged for drug offenses the chance to voluntarily undergo court-ordered substance abuse recovery treatment. The court oversees the recovery process through intensive supervision that includes drug testing and regular court appearances. A Drug Court judge has the authority to sentence an offender to jail for using drugs or missing substance abuse recovery meetings. . As of June, 2010, there were more than 2,500 Drug Courts in the U.S.
According to the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that supports health-centered approaches to drug abuse, Drug Courts have failed to show that they can reduce incarceration, save money or improve public safety. By attempting to address the problem of drug use with a “drug war” approach, Drug Courts have in many cases made the punishment for drug use harsher. People who struggle with drug abuse are the most likely to fail in a Drug Court program and be sent to prison. It’s a well-known fact among drug treatment experts that relapse can occur during treatment. In a medical or therapeutic setting, relapse is treated with intensified treatment. In Drug Court, relapse is punished by incarceration.
The Drug Courts system has few checks against judicial abuse. In March of 2011, the NPR radio show This American Life broadcast a frightening story about Superior Court Judge Amanda Williams from Georgia who uses long jail sentences to punish those who violate the rules of her Drug Court. Judge Williams has a record of sentencing those who fail recovery to indefinite jail terms that included solitary confinement without the right to speak to an attorney.
In the case of a 17-year-old offender named Lindsey Dills, who forged two small checks on her parents’ bank account for less than $100 to buy marijuana, Judge Williams meted out a sentence that include more than 10 years in Drug Court, 14 months in jail and 6 months in state prison. Lindsey attempted suicide while in solitary confinement for an indefinite term. Following the NPR story, judicial charges were filed against Judge Williams and she will receive a hearing in early 2012.
Lindsey Dills ended up in Drug Court because her parents were concerned about her drug use and thought the criminal justice system could help. Instead, a decade of her life was taken and she will probably be suffering the effects of her treatment for decades to come. If her parents had sought a health-based form of treatment for Lindsey instead of having her arrested, the outcome would most likely have been far different.
Here is Trey Anastasio from Phish talking about his experience in Drug Court: