Drug Court is a special court designed to rehabilitate certain felony offenders through long-term comprehensive supervision, drug testing, treatment services and immediate sanctions and incentives. Drug courts promote recovery through a coordinated response to participants who are dependent on alcohol or other drugs. The goal of drug courts is to engage individuals in treatment long enough to experience the benefits of treatment in order to end the cycle of recidivism and successfully intervene on the addiction. The concept of drug court is a response to the recognition that the judicial and prison systems are overburdened by drug offenders, and that rehabilitation is a better solution than punishment through prison time.
According to the State of Minnesota Judicial Branch website, drug courts are an effective problem-solving approach for dealing with alcohol and other drug addicted offenders in the judicial system. Drug courts closely monitor the defendant’s progress toward sobriety and recovery through ongoing treatment, frequent drug testing, regular mandatory check-in court appearances, and the use of a range of immediate sanctions and incentives to foster behavior change.
In drug court, judges collaborate with other traditional court participants (prosecutors, defense counsel, treatment providers, probation officers, law enforcement, educational and vocational experts, community leaders and others), whose roles have been substantially modified, but not relinquished, in the interest of helping defendants deal with addiction.
If you have any questions regarding drug court, please do not hesitate to call me. I look forward to helping you through your legal problems.
