Judge Alta Brady Speaks at the May First Thursday Luncheon On Deschutes County’s New Family Drug Court

Judge Alta Brady recently started hearing drug cases in a new family court format. Come and hear how the program is working and whether it is producing the results that were expected. The luncheon will be on Thursday, May 3^rd, at the Hong Kong Restaurant at 11:30 a.m. with the speaker beginning at noon.

The following is an excerpt from our recently finished LWVOR publication, "The Oregon Judiciary" Part II, Challenges for the 21^st Century, which was inserted in your last copy of the OREGON VOTER.

"DRUG COURT: Drug court is a specialty court that guides substance-abusing offenders through a comprehensive program of treatment, drug testing, and supervision using immediate sanctions and incentives to force offenders to deal with their substance abuse problems. The American Bar Association Commission’s report notes that traditional safety nets such as family no longer exist for many offenders, and traditional sentencing merely recycles substance abusers back onto the streets whether they continue to commit crimes to support their additions. Nationally, drug courts have proved to be an effective way to reduce repeat offenses committed by substance abusers.

Presiding judges noted that drug court is time-consuming and may disrupt the flow of cases on the docket, but those problems are outweighed by the positive effects of drug court on the participants, the resulting benefits to their families, and reduced crime in the community.

Multnomah County’s drug court, established in 1991, is the second oldest drug court in the nation. A 2003 cost-benefit evaluation of this court found that the total cost per drug court client was less than the cost of processing a substance-abusing offender through the court system in the traditional way.

The Oregon Judicial Department and the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) jointly sponsor drug court programs in 25 counties. Information prepared by DHS reports that of 1,869 drug court graduates between January 1, 2001 and June 30, 2005, 1,677 (90%) had no new misdemeanor or felony charges in an Oregon Circuit Court in the year after their graduation from the program. Most judges and legislators are convinced that drug courts are cost effective and worth the investment of money and staff time. Grants often pay for additional staff time and treatment resources."

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