What is Drug Court?

Drug court is a diversionary program in Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee and Indian River counties, open to all first time felony offenders, charged with a third degree felony drug related case. It can also be open to other types of offenders, as long as the state attorney recommends it.

In order to enter drug court, the client must first observe one full session of drug court, and be evaluated. If he still wishes to enter drug court, he enters a plea of No Contest to the charges.  Sentencing is put off for a period of one to two years. If he fails to complete drug court, he is sentenced on the offense. If he successfully completes drug court, the plea is withdrawn, and the charges dismissed.

There are 3 different type of programs available within drug court: education, full program, or inpatient.

Education Program
The education program is our easiest program. It consists of an 15 hour education class, 2 AA/NA meetings every week, random urinalysis, and periodic court appearances (usually one every 1-2 months). This program lasts at least one year, but can go up to two years. Also, if someone is on the education track, and they later test positive, they automatically switch over to the full program.

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Full Program
Full Program consists of 3 phases. The first 2 phases are 10 weeks long each, the last is at least 32 weeks.
In the first phase, the clients must:
attend court weekly
attend one group and one individual counseling session weekly
attend 5 AA/NA meetings weekly
submit to random urinalysis, as well as once a week scheduled testing.
In the second phase, the clients must:
attend court every other week
attend one group counseling session weekly
attend 3 AA/NA meetings weekly
submit to random urinalysis, as well as once a week scheduled testing.
In the third phase, the clients must:
attend court monthly
attend after-care counseling
attend 3 AA/NA meetings weekly
submit to random urinalysis, as well as once a week scheduled testing.

Inpatient Program
Inpatient program includes a residential treatment program. After discharge from inpatient treatment, the client must complete the full program. The client may be required to go into the inpatient program if he repeatedly tests positive on the full program.

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Sanctions within drug court
Drug court is a unique program in how people are punished for not complying. If someone fails to meet the requirements of drug court, the judge will issue a sanction immediately. The sanctions can include being on the "B" team in court (going last), community service hours, writing and presenting to their group an essay, jail time, and anything else appropriate to the offense.

Each court day, the drug court team meets. The team includes a representative from the Public Defender's Office, State Attorney’s Office, the drug court judge and the treatment providers. We talk about each person individually - what problems or successes they are experiencing. We also talk about what sanction to impose should there be a problem. This enables the judge to speak to each person individually in court, and allows all of us to really get to know each client.

Failing the program
There are people who eventually fail the program. I have seen four ways people fail out of drug court. First, they show a complete lack of interest in the program, by repeatedly not attending counseling sessions, meetings, or UA testing. Second, they show a complete inability to remain clean, even after inpatient treatment. Third, they have decided that they would rather be sentenced than continue in our program. And fourth, they get a new DUI charge.  Upon failing drug court, the client can be sentenced to any lawful sentence, which is usually up to 5 years in prison.

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