DRUG COURT GIVES ADDICTS ALTERNATIVE

Offenders Work with Legal Team

William Dudley doesn't know how many crimes he's committed over the past 20
years. But the 35-year-old Kingston man says he's been sent to jail "at
least 60 times."

"I've been stealing for about half my life," Dudley said last week as he
waited for his case to be called at Kingston City Court's temporary
quarters at the state armory.

"I've stolen watches, rings, cash, even food -- anything I thought I could
trade for drugs," he said.

Law enforcement authorities say Dudley's experience in the system is all
too typical: a revolving door of drug abuse, crime, incarceration, release,
more drug abuse and more crime.

Dudley now is enrolled in a new program, introduced throughout New York
state over the past 18 months and aimed at breaking that cycle. He is one
of about 40 criminals attending Ulster County's recently established Drug
Treatment Court. And the sessions Dudley has had before Kingston Judge
Edward T. Feeney this time have been strikingly different from the dozens
that preceded them.

Working with a team that includes police, judges, prosecutors, defense
attorneys, probation officers and social workers, the defendant signs a
contract agreeing to take specific steps to fight his or her addiction. In
return, the drug court team agrees to dismiss the charges if the defendant
remains drug free and crime free for at least a year and fulfills the other
promises in the contract.

Eligibility Determined

In general, anyone charged with a non-violent misdemeanor is eligible to
participate in drug court if authorities determine the crime stemmed from
the defendant's drug or alcohol dependency. In some cases, those charged
with felonies also may be deemed eligible.

The goal of drug court is to identify men and women who commit non-violent
crimes principally because of their addictions, then address the addiction
so the defendant doesn't commit any more crimes.

Since he signed his contract Feb. 14, Dudley has kept his part of the
bargain. He is attending counseling sessions, going to Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings and looking for permanent employment, and he has passed a series
of random drug tests.

Dudley calls his experience in drug court "my second life."

"What I was doing on the streets wasn't living," he said. "The streets will
beat you up. But Judge Feeney is fair. If you do what you're supposed to
do, this is a great program."

Feeney, a city judge for the past 20 years, said a new approach to dealing
with people like Dudley was long overdue.

"I have too many defendants," he said, "who are serving life sentences,
three to six months at a time."

While drug courts are new to the mid-Hudson Valley -- Ulster's began last
September, and two similar courts were launched this spring in Dutchess
County -- judges in Rochester have been running them for the past six
years. The first drug court in the country was started in Miami in 1989.

Local law enforcement officials say they're approaching drug court with
cautious optimism. But they say they are impressed with the results that
have been achieved elsewhere.

Typically, officials say, more than 80 percent of all drug addicts who
commit a crime will commit another one within the next year. But the
recidivism rate for those enrolled in drug courts is only 20 percent to 30
percent.

The man responsible for overseeing the state's drug court program, Deputy
Chief Administrative Judge Joseph J. Traficanti Jr., said his initial
feelings about drug court were something less than positive.

"Rochester City Judge John Schwartz was running a drug court in 1996 and
suggested we try it elsewhere," Traficanti said. "I said, 'John, we're a
court. We're not social workers.' "

Traficanti said he asked Schwartz to compile statistics proving defendants
in drug courts were less likely to commit crimes in the future.

"John kept those stats and wrote a report about them -- and I still didn't
believe him," Traficanti said. "But gradually I decided we all had to take
a step back, look at what wasn't working and try to find a better way."

The judge said he was pleased with how the drug court in Ulster was running
since it began last fall, and he was just as optimistic about the latest
drug courts to be established this spring, including those in Poughkeepsie
and Beacon in Dutchess County. As of last week, four defendants had been
assigned to Beacon drug court and two were enrolled in Poughkeepsie.

Teams Well-Trained

Dutchess County District Attorney William V. Grady said the drug court
teams in Beacon and Poughkeepsie had been well-trained, and he said he
expected good results.

"What has impressed me is the level of commitment by all participants in
the program -- judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors and the rest of the
team -- to ensure the offender is rehabilitating himself," Grady said.

The district attorney said part of his role in drug court is to ensure the
community remains protected from potentially dangerous criminals. No one
with a history of violent crime will be accepted in the Beacon or
Poughkeepsie drug courts, Grady said.

"Screening must be thorough so we can ensure that participants don't pose a
threat to the community," he said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys involved in the Dutchess County courts
said the screening can work both ways: There are times, they say, when
criminals who qualify for drug court reject the program and opt to remain
in the traditional criminal justice system.

"There's a basic distrust of the system we're dealing with," said John
Evans, an assistant district attorney assigned to the Beacon drug court team.

Senior Assistant Public Defender John Clarke, another member of the Beacon
team, said defense attorneys sometimes have to adjust their thinking when
helping their clients decide whether or not to enroll in drug court.

"There are some people who I don't recommend for drug court," Clarke said.
"For those who are looking for the path of least resistance, maybe a year
in jail is preferable if they have no intention of doing the rehab.

"But for others -- even in cases where the the prosecution may have a hard
time proving the particular crime charged -- I may advise them to go
through drug court as a way of getting rid of their addiction," the defense
attorney said. "It's the best legal solution, and it's also the best
solution for the rest of their lives."

The two judges on the Dutchess County drug court teams -- Timothy Pagones
in Beacon and Ronald McGaw in Poughkeepsie -- said they too must modify
their thinking about their roles as arbiters in criminal cases when they
preside in drug court.

"I've given up the attitude, 'I decide everything,' " Pagones said. "In
general, it's the consensus of the whole team that determines what happens
to a defendant."

McGaw said that means knowing enough about addiction to realize the road to
sobriety for most addicts is not a straight line.

"We all understand there will be relapses, and you don't flunk out of the
program for a relapse," McGaw said. "We have various sanctions built into
the system, ranging from requiring the person to write an essay to a few
days in jail. But the basic message is, 'We'll stick with you if you keep
trying.' "

Rapport Growing

McGaw and Pagones both said they enjoyed the personal rapport they have
seen grow between themselves and their first defendants. In Poughkeepsie,
McGaw recently joked with a defendant about the fortunes of the New York
Yankees. And at a recent drug court session in Beacon, Pagones spent a few
minutes with a defendant talking about a birthday party the defendant had
attended.

"It occurred to me during that conversation that I'd never talked about a
kid's birthday party with any of my previous defendants," Pagones said.

Those involved in drug courts say rewards for good behavior are just as
important as sanctions for relapses. At a drug court session in Kingston
last week, Judge Feeney presented a defendant, Dan Metzger, with a coin
marking his 60th day of sobriety. Everyone in the courtroom -- police
officers, prosecutors, social workers and other defendants -- joined in the
applause.

Metzger, arrested earlier this year for driving while intoxicated, said he
was impressed with how he had been treated in drug court since he enrolled
Feb. 19.

"I think it's a great program," Metzger said. "It's not easy, though, and
sometimes I wish I had just taken the jail time. But the judge sticks with
you; he really cares."

District Attorney Impressed

Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams said he still believes in
aggressive prosecution and stiff punishment for violent offenders. But he
said he was impressed with how Kingston's drug court was dealing with
criminals with drug and alcohol addictions.

"We pride ourselves in being tough in our prosecutions," Williams said,
"but we also recognize that aggressive prosecution is only a piece of the
puzzle. Regardless of how aggressive we've been, the problem of recidivism
persists and it was time to find new initiatives."

Last month, Traficanti had a chance to sit in Feeney's chair, running
Ulster County's drug treatment court for a day. He said the interaction he
had that day with the drug court team and the defendants had reinforced his
belief the state had indeed found a better way to deal with non-violent,
addicted offenders.

"Is drug court going to solve the state's drug problems? No," Traficanti
said. "But when I sat at that table with the team before court began and
discussed the intimate details of people's lives, I saw we were getting to
the root of these defendants' problems. These are weighty decisions we're
making in drug court, but I think we're reaching a better understanding
about addiction and recovery.

"We used to measure success by how many criminals we put away," the judge
said. "Now we measure it by how many lives we save."

At a Glance Drug Court Contract

All defendants in New York's Drug Treatment Courts sign a contract
promising to accomplish certain goals in exchange for eventual dismissal of
the criminal charges against them.

Following are excerpts from the contract defendants sign in the City of
Poughkeepsie's drug court:

- - I must tell the truth.

- - I must remain drug and alcohol free.

- - I must attend all court sessions as ordered.

- - I must report to my probation officer and court staff as ordered.

- - If I engage in any criminal conduct, I may be prosecuted separately for
any new charges filed against me.

- - I must submit to all random drug tests, including urine sample testing.

- - I understand if I fail to follow the terms of this agreement, the judge
may impose sanctions as deemed appropriate by the Drug Court Team.

- - I understand that if I successfully complete the Drug Court program, my
criminal case will be dismissed.

- - I understand that if I am terminated from the Drug Court program, I will
be sentenced to up to one year in the Dutchess County Jail.

At a Glance Drug Court Goals

In most drug treatment courts in New York state, defendants must complete
three sets of goals and objectives before they graduate from the program
and have their charges dismissed.

Following are excerpts of the three phases City of Poughkeepsie defendants
must successfully complete:

Phase I

- - Attend at least four drug court sessions per month.

- - Attend substance abuse counseling as directed by the Drug Treatment Court
team.

- - Report to a probation officer at least once a week.

- - Attend Alcoholics Anonymous or other 12-step meetings at least seven
times per week and obtain written verification from a sponsor.

Phase II

- - Attend drug court sessions at least twice a month.

- - Report to probation officer at least twice a month.

- - Attend 12-step meetings at least seven times per week.

- - Attend coping skills classes and vocational training classes as directed
by the drug court team.

Phase III

- - Attend drug court sessions at least once a month.

- - Attend substance abuse counseling as directed by treatment provider.

- - Attend at least five self-help group meetings plus two recognized
recovery activities per week and provide written verification to the Drug
Court team.

- - Complete life skill training, vocational and/or parenting programs as
directed by the team.

- - Submit to random drug testing once a week.

- - Be employed.

- - Complete any community service as directed by the team.