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‘Drug court’ starts July 15
Could replace jail for minor offenses
Published Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Beginning July 15, there will be an alternative to prison time for first time drug offenders – drug court.
The program will begin with 20 “slots,” and those who are arrested on certain drug charges from July 15 forward will be eligible to apply for acceptance into the program, District Attorney Greg Gambril said.
Drug courts allow charges to be set-aside for defendants who agree to undergo an intense therapy and drug-monitoring program, according to the Alabama Sentencing Commission’s Web site. Gambril described the program as an alternative mode of punishment and sentencing for only a certain class of drug offenders.
“I’d have to say 70 to 80 percent of our current docket of felonies committed are drug-related,” Gambril said. “We needed a way to stop that cycle. It’s been recognized that drug court can do that. It can get people clean, which stops them from committing other crimes.”
Gambril said the program will be available to those who are “charged with a particular drug offense” such as possession of a controlled substance or a combination of crimes in which drug use was a “significant factor.” They will also be required to pay a “drug court fee” to participate in the program. Eventually, he hopes those funds, along with grant monies, will allow the program to be self-sustaining.
“If that person meets the criteria, they will plead guilty to offense; receive jail sentences and the judge will continue their judgment hearing until a later date for them to go through drug court,” he said. “People who are charged with manufacturing, distribution or trafficking and violent crimes are not eligible. So say if someone commits a theft while under the influence of drugs, they technically would be eligible.”
The program involves “some very rigorous requirements on participants,” he said. First, a person must first be evaluated by a court referral officer who will advise the drug court team if the applicant is eligible for the program. The team, which is comprised of Judge Charles A. “Lex” Short; program coordinator Stacey Brooks; a DA’s office prosecutor; three defense attorneys, Meredith Peters, Manish Patel and Chris Sledge; two drug court monitors, Elizabeth Carter and a to-be-hired employee; a probation officer, a drug task force agent, a juvenile court representative and juvenile probation officer.
Angie Curry will serve as the court referral officer.
Secondly, participants are required to enter a rehabilitation program. Most participants will utilize faith-based rehabilitations programs, like Opp’s Crossover Ministries, Gambril said.
Participants will be monitored throughout their rehabilitation phase, the length of which will be set by the judge.
“There will also be certain goals the person must accomplish to define their progress, in addition to rehab,” Gambril said. “One of those is that they will have to get a job. They’ll have to undergo random urinalysis tests, home visits, etc. There will be a super-intensive probation period. They’ll also have to pay off their court costs, their fines and restitution.”
The program will take approximately one year to complete and participants will appear before the judge “once or twice a month,” he said.
“So, if you look at it, once the person has completed the program, it’s a win-win for them,” he said. “The charges are dismissed and they come out that day free – free of debt because we’ve made them pay their fines. They’re not on probation. They’re employed and they have no felonies on their record.”
And while 20 slots may seem like a small number, Gambril said those spaces will not be filled overnight.
The county applied for and was awarded a training grant in 2002, which allowed for members of the local judicial system and the district attorney’s office, including Gambril, to attend a year-long training session to “develop a program that would work in Covington County.”
Since then, it has taken nearly eight years to make the program a reality, mainly because the program “was put on the back burner” when he became district attorney in 2005, Gambril said.
“When I came into office, my goal was to acquire the money to hire a part-time assistant to do drug court,” he said. “But that didn’t happen.”
Gambril said planning for the program began in September 2003 and was completed in January 2004. Additionally, the grant criteria changed in 2004 to require a 25 percent funding match, but it was money the DA’s office didn’t have, he said.
It was also the year DA Eugenia Loggins retired as DA and Gambril sought election. After that, the stumbling blocks kept piling up, he said.
“When I got bogged down in trying all of the capital cases and adjusting to being the new DA, drug court planning came to a halt,” he said, citing the Kevin Henderson case in spring 2006, Oscar Roy Doster in late summer-early fall 2006, and Bobby O’Lee Phillips in late winter-early spring 2007.
“But now, the groundwork is laid, and we’re ready to begin,” he said.
Comments
Posted by hammer1 (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 8:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What if they are charged with distribution but plead to possession will they then be able to get into this program. I wonder? Because I see a lot of arrest for Distribution and then I see a lot of guilty plea's for possession WHOMMMMM??????????
Posted by justice (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 9:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
get people clean,"will stop them from doing other crimes" so will prison time ,what about the informents who get caught they are still out there doing crime just telling on other drug dealers for favors not to go to jail will they attend this "drug court"?
Posted by sweetnannie (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There is always a way to get clean and stay clean... you have to want to first.. That's the main thing... you have to want the help for it to work... I had District Attorney Loggins tell me that,"once on meth,, always on meth.." not the case..i know someone who has been clean for over ten years... with God's help....and has a productive life... so if you need help seek that help... and live free. Don't believe those who say it's not possible. Miracles do happen everyday... Get the help.!!
Posted by waitingandwondering (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 11:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
sweetnannie you are very correct about getting clean and staying clean. I have a very close friend that has been clean for 5 years now. What I really wonder though is what about the people convicted in the last 3 years of drug charges that don't get this opportunity do they? They have a record that will be there unless given a pardon correct
Posted by covingtoncountycitizen2008 (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 12:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gambril in my opinion is not fit to be sitting in that position as DA. I have been hearing about this drug court for a long time but isn't it ironic that he is just now putting this into motion. Could it be election time again? It sure is next year, so he will try to put his picture in the paper as much as he can as a last effort to gain votes. Guess we will see who runs next year for this position.
Posted by someone200916 (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 3:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How is a 20 person drug court going to get that mountain of drug cases off of his desk? Why is it that Greg Gambril is limiting our drug court to 20 people when no other county around us has a limit on the number of participants? Who determines which 20 get the spots and how do we safe guard that process from political favoritism by Greg Gambril? Why is it that we've waited all these years for drug court funding when Escambia County began there drug court with no money and resources from various courthouse offices that were already in place? Is the objective in Covington County to help people or to "get funding" for the DA's Office?
Also, on checking the archives in the Andalusia Star News (on this website) I see that Ben Bowden helped prosecute Henderson and Phillips and Walt Merrell helped prosecute Doster-not to mention the fact that the last of these cases was tried 2 years ago.
We need someone as DA who cares more about the problem than they do about getting elected.
Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 4:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Reading between the lines it seems to me this is a program tailored to the more affluent user who can afford to buy their way out of jail time.
Posted by countyconscience (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 11:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wasn't there a story last year where the DA gave up a grant start a drug court because he couldn't find a way to match the grant. It seems that he didn't ask any body to help. Not the county or any cities in the county.
I agree that limiting the program to 20 people makes no sense.
Posted by Mr_Logic (anonymous) on July 2, 2009 at 6:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Drug court may be beneficial to a criminal defendant. As others have pointed out, it can be a game for politicians to play.
Cops have traditionally "overcharged" drug offenses with the support of many DAs. They are charged with intent to distribute or sale, a felony, knowing the evidence will only support a "simple possession" case. The Defendant sees the opportunity to get out with a misdemeanor and takes the deal; his lawyer appears to have done something and the DA gets a conviction - a tidy package. An overcharge will now prevent the Defendant from a great chance to clean up his life. This has to be looked into.
The drug court typically requires the Defendant to fill out an application. It asks the Defendant to tell them what he did and describe the extent of his drug problem! Questions like this are also typically asked by the "Board." Well, only the Defense attorneys on the Board should get this information. If he is turned down, how do you keep the DA and the Judge from considering this information in the investigation, trial and sentencing?
There should be as much objectivity in the process as possible. Any judge or DA who has "drug court information" gained through this process should not be allowed to be involved in that Defendant's prosecution should the Defendant not be selected for the program.
Right before an election is as good a time as any to save lives.
Posted by Kathy052 (anonymous) on July 2, 2009 at 1:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I haven't been reading the news lately or posting. But I honestly feel that something has got to be done. I honestly didn't realize how bad the prescription pain meds were until I was in Flowers hospital in the MICU unit fighting once again for my life when it is on record about a family member going in my purse and stole my meds. Yes it isn't over with yet but I wouldn't have ever thought that me laying in that unit and not knowing if I was going to make it one more time or not and it was reported in Dothan and it has to go threw the channels and the family members Dr. was also alerted and it is a mess. But guess who had to do with out their medicine because someone else needed to feel good I guess.
I am to the point it has to stop somewhere and I don't have any clue as how but I guess the DA is trying to figure it out.I know they have programs for men but what about women have they gotten one for them yet?
Posted by GetAGrip (anonymous) on July 3, 2009 at 7:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's easy to Monday morning quarterback decisions and policy when you're not having to make them.
Posted by outlaw11 (anonymous) on July 3, 2009 at 8:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If anyone would like to check on the success or failure of the 'drug court', they only have to cross the line into Okaloosa Cty,FL, and see the results of 15 years...some worked, some didn't...I was a DUI, in AL not FL, but had to attend classes in FWB,FL...I was not 'Drug Court' but we were all lumped together...my partner during that time was a coke bust, he already had done 6 months, and we became close...we later got a 3br beachhouse in Destin and rented out the #3 to a Cajun...no, we were not gay, we just had similar ways and taste in food, so, he stayed clean for about 5 years, then, a law suit came thru and 'BAM' back to the ole 'crank...well, I had a son who visited on weekends and my 'friend' continually exposed him to outbreaks of violence brought on by "crank and pot', so, one nite he made the mistake of grabbing my son by the arm, cussing him, and guess what...I picked him up across my shoulders, spun, and dropped him thru a glass coffee table...he did not get up...my son will tell you this today and he had never seen his father do anything like this...I did not like it and I moved the next weekend...Mike went back to coke, meth, anything he could score...so, no, you will never get over it...and...no, I have never done meth, coke, nor any of it...how could I direct my son if I was guilty...now, there are persons who have walked the straight and narrow for years, but, just one wrong step and back to hell...why do I say this, Drug Court is less than 10% effective, but, if it can clean just one, it is worth the effort, if it saves one child, one teen, one HS student, or one adult in depression, then it is worth it. I do not agree nor like any of the persons involved except Angie Curry, so, I have no idea how this is going to go, but, go for it.
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