Pubdate: Wed, 14 May 2003
Source: Augusta Chronicle, The (GA)
Copyright: 2003 The Augusta Chronicle
Contact:  http://www.augustachronicle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/31
Note: Does not publishing letters from outside of the immediate Georgia and 
South Carolina circulation area
Author: Doug Gross, Morris News Service

U.S. DRUG CZAR PRAISES COURTS

ATLANTA - The nation's drug czar praised Georgia's burgeoning drug-court 
system Tuesday and pushed for an expansion of the programs, which offer 
treatment instead of jail time for drug users.

"Drug courts are the places where miracles happen - where people who 
suffer, and cause other people to suffer, are brought together with the 
help they need," said John Walters, the director of the president's Office 
of National Drug Control Policy.

The Atlanta visit kicked off a 25-city tour for Mr. Walters, who hopes to 
raise awareness about what he calls the benefits of the drug court system.

Separate drug courts give judges the ability to prescribe supervised 
treatment, counseling, drug testing and other social services, instead of 
jail time, to usually non-violent drug offenders.

Georgia's first drug court was established in 1994 in Macon. The state has 
23 drug courts - 13 for adult felony users, three for adult misdemeanor 
cases and seven for juvenile drug offenses.

The system gained renewed interest in January, when Georgia Supreme Court 
Chief Justice Norman Fletcher called for more programs and a better system 
of tracking defendants who go through the courts.

"We in Georgia are very convinced that the way to turn around people's 
lives who have addictions is through the implementation of drug courts," 
said Judge Fletcher, who met with Mr. Walters on Tuesday morning.

No comprehensive national statistics exist for the success rate of drug 
courts - one of the reasons Judge Fletcher called for a more comprehensive 
accountability and evaluation system.

But Mr. Walters said some courts have reported success rates of 60-80 
percent among defendants who successfully complete rehabilitation programs, 
compared to 10-20 percent success rates for drug offenders who are 
incarcerated.

State Court Judge Kent Lawrence of Athens presides over a court for repeat 
DUI offenders and misdemeanor drug defendants. His sentences often include 
job training, counseling and drug tests instead of jail time

"In 30 years I've been part of the legal system, drug courts are the only 
things I've seen that really work," said Judge Lawrence, who spent time as 
a police officer and prosecutor before becoming a judge.

Judge Lawrence said incarcerating a drug offender costs about $48 a day, 
compared to $29 a week for his rehab program. And he said the rate of 
defendants who return to court after completing the program is far lower 
than the percentage of those who return after being in prison.

"We have really missed the mark over the years thinking that simply putting 
people in jail was going to fix their problems," he said.

Leslie Baker, 54, of Atlanta says she's living proof that the drug courts work.

She said she spiraled from owning her own business to working as a 
prostitute because of a drug addiction she couldn't kick until being 
sentenced to treatment in the Fulton County drug court.

"It has given me back a new life - something I never had," she said.

"In 30 years I've been part of the legal system, drug courts are the only 
things I've seen that really work." - State Court Judge Kent Lawrence, of 
Athens, who presides over a drug court. 
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