Pubdate: Thursday, June 3, 1999 Source: Times Union (NY) Copyright: 1999, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation Contact: (518) 454-5628 Address: Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212 Feedback: http://www.timesunion.com/react/ Website: http://www.timesunion.com/ Forum: http://www.timesunion.com/react/forums/ Author: Warren M. Anderson Note: The writer is former state Senate majority leader GIVE JUDGES DISCRETION IN DRUG-CASE SENTENCING "Dealing with drugs: Counterpoint'' (May 16), by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, requires a response to correct one basic misconception. The article criticizes those who would call for repeal of the Rockefeller drug laws, laws I supported as the majority leader of the Senate when they were enacted. However, the article written by John Dunne, which states the position of the Campaign for Effective Criminal Justice, calls not for repeal, but for meaningful, balanced reform of those laws. Basically, the amendments to the law propose to give sentencing discretion back to judges so they may appropriately target nonviolent drug-addicted offenders, who pose no danger to public safety, and divert them to treatment rather than to prison. This is a far more effective way of reducing drug offenses, as demonstrated by drug-treatment diversion programs across the state, including one in Onondaga County cited by Mr. Fitzpatrick. Our position is that judges, in consultation with prosecutors, ought to be making these sentencing decisions, as judges are best suited to objectively review each case and determine which offenders should be sent to prison or to a drug-treatment program. Unquestionably, how the criminal justice system deals with nonviolent drug offenders is a public safety issue. Our contention is simply that public safety will be enhanced by giving judges the flexibility to place nonviolent drug offenders in cost-effective drug-treatment programs. Warren M. Anderson Binghamton The writer is former state Senate majority leader - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake