Loudoun County Virginia Drug Court nixed funding for the program because supervisors opposing the funding said they were concerned the program was not cost effective, serving a maximum of 20 participants at a time and reporting a graduation rate of 24 percent. Close to the nations Capital we are seeing evidence of the high failure rate of Drug Court. As the judge said, it is like boot camp, so many participants fail. Why have a program so strict and hard to comply with that so many people fail in Drug Court? Your average person would have a hard time completing Drug Court, yet they expect people without a drivers licence, a drug addiction and possibly mental health issues, to complete extremely hard requirements. Many pro Drug Court advocates are out there pushing hard for funding to increase Drug Courts and the cousins to them like Veterans Court and Family Court. They give out skewed statistics on their success rate.
Drug Courts also need to stop the forcing of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on them which is unconstitutional, yet judges are doing it anyway.
Budget Update: Drug Court Funding Nixed
Posted on March 9, 2012
by Norman Styer
The Loudoun Board of Supervisors continued its budget mark up Thursday night, with straw votes to restore $756,563 to County Administrator Tim Hemstreet’s recommended FY13 plan. Supervisors last week voted to begin their budget work at a spending level that would result in a 5 percent real estate tax bill decrease for the average homeowner, about $50 million below Hemstreet’s recommendation. That action put in play a list of cuts proposed by Hemstreet that would have to be made unless a majority of supervisors voted to reinstate the funds.
It appears that among the first casualties of that approach is the Loudoun County Drug Court. County Chairman Scott K. York’s (R-At Large) motion to restore $284,408 to continue the 9-year-old program next year failed. Supervisors opposing the funding said they were concerned the program was not cost effective, serving a maximum of 20 participants at a time and reporting a graduation rate of 24 percent.
The program allows select serious drug offenders to enter an intensive rehabilitation program, supervised by Loudoun County Circuit Court judges, as an alternative to trial. Participants are subject to frequent drug testing and are required to have jobs, manage their finances and appear in court weekly over a period of at least one year. Judge Burke F. McCahill described the program as the most intensive form of supervision in the state’s criminal justice system.
Judge Thomas D. Horne, now the most senior Circuit Court judge in Virginia, compared the program with his toughest life experience: U.S. Marine Corps boot camp. “We are not easy. We do not mollycoddle,” Horne said, explaining why so few participants successfully complete the program. However, even those who don’t complete the program often experience important life-changing impacts and stay out of trouble, he said. Both judges noted that the program was geared to address serious repeat offenders likely to make frequent appearance in the jail and in the courthouse. “We are not rehabilitating people, we are habilitating them,” McCahill said.
Supervisor Ralph Buona (R-Ashburn) said the low graduation rate indicated the program was not successful. Supervisor Shaun Williams (R-Broad Run) said it wasn’t a core government service that justified funding. He suggested private support groups—not the court system—should help these type of addicts. “If they want to get sober and have the support structure to do it, they will do it,” Williams said.Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling), a longtime Drug Court opponent, said drug offenders should not be provided an alternative to facing trial and criminal punishment for their violations. York cited a staff analysis that showed the program, even with its limited participation, saved the county money compared with the cost of incarceration. “This is chump change to help individuals become successful,” York said. York’s motion to restore funding failed on a 3-4-2 vote. Supervisor Matt Letourneau (R-Dulles) and Janet Clarke (R-Blue Ridge) supported the motion. Buona, Delgaudio, Williams and Supervisor Ken Reid (R-Leesburg) voted against it. Supervisors Geary Higgins (R-Catoctin) and Susanne Volpe (R-Algonkian) were absent from Thursday’s meeting.
A similar program in juvenile court survived the evening.
http://www.leesburg2day.com/news/article_1554b48e-6a01-11e1-9ab4-001871e3ce6c.html
More Drug Courts getting the Ax.
Another attempt to kill N.C. drug courts
Posted: Tuesday, May. 29, 2012
At budget time, especially in a harsh economic climate, it’s sometimes easier for legislators to come up with reasons not to pay for things. But in proposing last week to eliminate funding for more than 40 drug and DWI treatment courts across the state, N.C. lawmakers set a new standard for gall.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/29/3268203/another-attempt-to-kill-nc-drug.html#storylink=cpy
Oak Harbor Drug Court graduate goes to prison
MARCH 10, 2012
LETTER/EDITOR
A 32-year-old man arrested when Oak Harbor police stormed the home of suspected methamphetamine dealers last October was sent to prison this week.
Brent Severns pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court to one count of maintaining premises for using controlled substance.
Under a plea bargain, both the prosecution and defense recommended a sentence of one year and two months in prison. Judge Alan Hancock agreed and imposed the sentence.
Hancock said he was very disappointed when Severns was arrested since he had completed drug court, which is a rigorous court-supervised program in which non-violent defendants go through intensive treatment for addiction problems. Hancock noted that Severns “wasn’t able to overcome the demon of addiction,” but he encouraged him to seek treatment in prison.
Severns seemed to agree.
“I’m going to use this time as wisely as I can and I’m going to let my actions speak for themselves,” he said.
Severns’ father, Oak Harbor City Councilman Bob Severns, spoke on his son’s behalf. He said he was concerned about an unresolved DUI case in Snohomish County, which may make his son ineligible for services when he gets out of prison. Hancock, however, said he had no control over what happens in other courts.
The Oak Harbor police arrested Severns and another man, Damien Hernandez, after serving a search warrant at the SW 19th Court residence on Oct. 14. The police had received numerous complaints for about two years from neighbors about the heavy foot and vehicle traffic at the condominium.
“In the past year, the complaints became more frequent and the community of SW 19th Court were becoming extremely frustrated with the amount of traffic and how nothing could be done about it,” Detective Carl Seim wrote in his report about the case.
Seim was finally able to obtain a search warrant by working with an informant and conducting “controlled buys” of meth from Severns. The police seized 4.43 grams of meth in the top drawer of Severns’ desk.
Hernandez was also charged. He pleaded guilty in December and was sentenced to prison.
http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/142111313.html
Teen Mom Amber Portland mandated to Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings by Drug Court.
March 9th 2012
As we reported yesterday, it looked like Teen Mom Amber Portwood was in hot water after allegedly not being able to make her own hot water in the form of urine for her mandatory daily drug test. Amber responded to these reports with E! News. She said: “I would be in jail if I skipped. Honestly, I don’t give a sh*t what people are saying…I’m doing what I have to do…they are not a concern of mine.”
Amber appeared before the judge yesterday and was ordered to submit to an extra 30 days of daily drug testing because she was unable to provide a sample on Monday. Portwood’s statement isn’t technically false as an insider told E! that she did not skip her test as she did attend the scheduled screening but was simply unable to “go” after trying for over an hour which equates to a failed test in the eyes of the law.
But there’s more… TMZ was told that Amber also missed a court mandated AA meeting recently. As punishment the judge is requiring her to re-read the drug court handbook and to write a 500-word report all about what her responsibilities should be as a participant in drug court.
http://starcasm.net/archives/147503