Drug Court (S 2770A)

The General Assembly approved legislation amending the duties of the Drug Court magistrate, and altering which individuals are eligible for participation in the court.  Although the ACLU supports the values and purpose of the drug court, the Affiliate testified that there were a number of concerns raised by the proposed changes.  Among other changes, the legislation will bar from participation in the court those individuals who have previous felony convictions or convictions for delivery of a controlled substance, even though many drug-addicted individuals often turn in desperation to crime, including drug dealing, in order to furnish their habit.  Additionally, the law adopt a post-plea model, meaning that individuals must plead guilty of a crime before participating in the program, and may be incarcerated for long periods of time if they fail to “graduate” from Drug Court.  The ACLU testified that while the Drug Court can be a useful program, these elements of the bill would render the Drug Court ineffective in many cases.