Pubdate: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 Source: Los Altos Town Crier (CA) Copyright: 2001. Select Communications Inc. Contact: http://www.mapinc.org/media/245 Website: http://www.losaltosonline.com/latc.html Author: Bruce Barton Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prop36.htm (Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act) JUDGE LOOKS TO HELP Charles Hayden Says Rehab Aids Drug Offenders, Saves Tax Money Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Hayden calls himself a conservative Republican. Yet the way he has traditionally dealt with drug offenders in his court might be considered liberal by some. His approach - rehabilitation as opposed to jail sentences - amounts to common sense, the way he sees it. "The approach is taking people ready to work in rehab and helping them do it," said the veteran judge. It wasn't that long ago that the judge's rehab philosophy made Hayden, 64, somewhat of a maverick among his peers. With some other judges, guilty means going to jail - it's not their responsibility to rehabilitate. But Hayden pointed out it costs the taxpayers $7 to incarcerate for every $1 to rehabilitate. "The average addict is responsible for $20,000-$40,000 in property crimes per year," said the 36-year Mountain View resident. "Two hundred cases a week go through drug court - if I can bring 40 out of drugs, that's a huge savings." He said he sometimes gets asked, "Hey judge, did you hang somebody today?' The better question is, 'Hey judge, how many did you get into treatment today?'" Hayden, a former Los Altos resident who began practicing law in 1965, specialized in family law before being appointed to Santa Clara County Municipal Court in 1989. He was re-elected in 1990 and 1996 before joining Superior Court with the unification of Superior and Municipal courts in 1998. Back in San Jose since January after working at the Palo Alto courthouse for three years, Hayden said returning to drug court was "like coming home." From 1992 to 1995, he set a standard for resolving a tremendous number of court cases, running something referred to as the "859 calendar," a code for drug-related felonies. His job was to pore over some 90,000 pages of probation reports and 15,000 felony cases to consider reductions in sentencing and determine whether cases should proceed to trial. He shed thousands of cases off the court dockets, opting to settle with nonviolent offenders before trial through rehabilitation and community service. Hayden said it takes a team effort, involving like minds among the district attorney, public defender, alternate defender and probation officer, to run a smooth court. "If any of them don't like the concept (of rehabilitation), it will stop dead in the water," he said. Hayden said more judges are sharing his philosophy than back in 1992, when his stance was considered "cutting edge." "I wish I could say all the judges were on board, but they're not," he said. "The nice thing is, there are enough of us who care." Caring has been a major component in Hayden's personality and reflects his off-hours involvement in community service. He remains active, serving his seventh year on the Mountain View-Los Altos Challenge Team, an umbrella group that encompasses a number of local youth programs. >From the mid-1960s to mid-1980s, he served on the board of trustees of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District. A former member of the Los Altos Kiwanis Club, Hayden has served with the Mountain View club since 1977. You would think Hayden would be in favor of Proposition 36, an initiative passed by voters last year that orders rehabilitation over incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. However, Hayden noted that the law, which goes into effect July 1, has a number of exemptions that prevent some offenders from being helped. Any resisting arrest conviction, for instance, is exempt from Prop. 36, Hayden said. "Anything other than a nonviolent offense - suspended license, petty theft - by law, we cannot use any funds for treating these addicts," Hayden said. On the other hand, the new law requires treatment for some people who are beyond treatment, giving them three chances before 30 days' jail time can be issued. In addition, Hayden fears the inadequate state funding for treatment programs under the initiative will force the county to pick up much of the tab. "It's not going to make a (positive) impact," Hayden concluded. "It was really lessening the efforts we were making before." Despite such setbacks, Hayden said, "We have seen a tremendous turnaround in the approach to drug addiction and substance abuse." It's important to Hayden that defendants in his court learn something from their experiences and improve their lives. "I use a lot of self-guided programs, community service hours," he said. Such time might be spent in a convalescent home or working in Goodwill stores. While working in a truancy court in Mountain View, Hayden sentenced junior high kids who committed minor crimes to write book reports. Deputy District Attorney Jay Boyarski described Hayden as "one of the all around nicest people you would ever hope to encounter. He's very friendly to everybody, and that's probably what most people's overall feeling about Judge Hayden is." Boyarski said Hayden was the judge in a hate crime case stemming from the 1995 assault of a Korean man at a Chevron station at Homestead Road and Foothill Expressway in Los Altos. Boyarski, the prosecuting attorney in the case, said Hayden found one defendant guilty, not only of assault, but of a hate crime. Boyarski said Hayden made a "courageous decision." "Verdicts of that nature are important because they send a message to the community that we won't tolerate violence or hate based on a person's religion, their ethnic background, sexual orientation or any other protected status group like that," he said. "I felt proud to know Judge Hayden in part because of his decision on that case." Superior Court Commissioner James Madden, a Los Altos resident, described his colleague and friend as applying "the human touch" in his court. "He's a great guy," Madden said of the man he's known the past 25 years and with whom he has lunch two-to-four times a week. "He gets along so well with the defendants, the staff and everybody. ... He treats the defendants just like people." Madden recalled a female prisoner yelling out to Hayden from a passing bus, "Hi, Judge Love!" Hayden said he wouldn't trade for any other line of work. "I absolutely love it," he said. "I can't wait to go to bed in the early evening so I can get up and get back here." It shows. In court, Hayden appears energized and occasionally chatty with his audience. He sits in the same chair he's used the past 35 years. "I am not a bureaucrat," he said. "If you need something, you go do it." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk