Georgia’s Tough New DUI Law Takes Effect Julty 1st

For Immediate Release

July 1, 2008

For more information:

Jim Shuler, Public Affairs

404-656-6996

jshuler@gohs.ga.gov

(ATLANTA)  This year the July 4^th holiday falls on a Friday.. And for some, it’s just another summer six-pack tradition to kick-off an entire weekend celebrating the consumption of adult beverages. That means July 4th is the second most dangerous night of the year on our highways.  Too many party-people decide to leave their designated drivers behind at the barbeque and a dozen Georgians will die in alcohol-related crashes during the July 4th weekend.

But as of July 1^st, Georgia has a tough new DUI law on the books that Georgia’s DUI cops will be enforcing on the roads!  And it’s here just in time to kick-off Georgia’s Operation Zero Tolerance statewide DUI crackdown.

During the 2008 legislative session the Georgia House and Senate passed House Bill 336, creating a felony-level DUI charge for those repeat offenders who’ve stacked up four drunk-driving convictions on their ten-year driving record rap-sheets. With this change in Georgia law, multiple DUI arrests can now lead to felony convictions against Georgia’s worst case high-risk violators. 

Long-awaited by DUI crash victims and grieving family survivors, HB 336 is truly regarded as lifesaving DUI law for Georgia. “This landmark legislation carries heavier fines, mandatory offender evaluations and jail times, stricter probation, and longer community service penalties,” said Director Bob Dallas of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). “It should make any responsible driver think twice before ever climbing behind the wheel while impaired.”

For the first time, Georgia’s new DUI Law requires first time offenders to undergo drug and alcohol evaluation. And if that evaluation deems necessary, the offenders must participate in strict, court-supervised substance-abuse treatment to decrease the likelihood of recurring offenses.  (Under the old law, drug and alcohol evaluations were only required for second and subsequent offenses.) But when those DUI offenders have been convicted a fourth time, the law is designed for public safety priorities to kick-in with mandatory felony jail time for violators.

Even while it was still pending, this visionary legislation already had the endorsement of GOHS, MADD, and the State District Attorney’s Association.  Bill sponsor, State Rep. Kevin Levitas (D-Atlanta) is himself a former prosecutor who perceived the random fatalities involving drunk drivers as more dangerous to the public and more frequent than the murder rate.  “Sadly in murder cases, victims and perpetrators often know each other. But there is this randomness to DUI deaths where a car just suddenly crosses over lanes of highway and without warning kills someone on their way to church or school,” said Rep. Levitas. 

“Until HB 336 was passed, even four-time shoplifting offenders were treated as felons under Georgia law, but  a fourth-time DUI was still just a misdemeanor here,” said MADD-Georgia State Executive Director Denise Thames. “Georgia was one of only five states left with no DUI felony law. Now we have serious consequences for those repeat offenders.  A third time DUI offender needs a tough message and it should include more than just a few days of jail time.”

“Few people realize there’s research that shows people drive drunk 87 times before being caught for one DUI,” said Rep. Kevin Levitas.  “Just try to calculate in your head how many times these multiple offenders may have driven drunk before they were caught the fourth time and charged and convicted under the old law.  It’s time we got their attention.”

Georgia’s new felony DUI law applies to offenses occurring on or after July 1, 2008.  Under its provisions:

• First and Second DUI Convictions are treated as misdemeanors..
• Third DUI Convictions are treated as high and aggravated misdemeanors..
• Fourth or Subsequent Convictions committed within ten years are treated as felonies..

                                                                                (PAGE TWO)

The following is a summary of HB 336 and not meant as a technical interpretation of the law.  For a full reading of the actual statute see the OZT news conference feature on our website at www.gahighwaysafety.org

First Time DUI convictions carry these penalties:

• Fines ranging from $300.00 to $1,000.00

A period of imprisonment from ten days to 12 months (judge may probate all but 24 hours of jail time)

• A minimum of 40 hours of Community Service for DUI at .08 BAC or above/

        Or a minimum of 20 hours of Community Service for DUI below .08 BAC

• Completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program
•  A clinical evaluation and completion of any necessary treatment
• 12 months of probation, less any jail time served

Second Time DUI convictions carry these penalties:

• Fines ranging from $600.00 to $1,000.00
• A period of imprisonment from 90 days to 12 months (offender must serve 72 hours of actual jail time)
• A minimum of 30 days of Community Service
• Completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program
• A clinical evaluation and completion of any necessary treatment
• 12 months of probation, less any jail time served

Third Time DUI convictions carry these penalties:

• Fines ranging from $1,000.00 to $5,000.00
• Period of imprisonment from 120 days to 12 months (offender must serve 15 days of actual jail time)
• A minimum of 30 days of community service

• Completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program
• A clinical evaluation and completion of any necessary treatment
• 12 months of probation, less any jail time served

Fourth Time or subsequent DUI convictions carry these penalties:

• Fines ranging from $1,000.00 to $5,000.00
• A period of imprisonment from one to five years (offender must serve three months of actual jail time)
• A minimum of 60 days of Community Service
• Completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program
• A clinical evaluation and completion of any necessary treatment
• 5 years of probation, less any jail time served

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is issuing this warning to party responsibly this July 4th holiday:  During “OZT” police in Georgia will conduct major waves of concentrated patrols and sobriety checkpoints throughout the state from Friday, June 20, through Sunday, July 6, 2008 to protect innocent motorists and their families from DUI-drivers on our highways. 

Whether meeting a few friends after work or traveling the holiday barbeque circuit, friends should never let friends drive drunk.  Remember to designate a sober driver in advance – Before the July 4th festivities begin.  What can you do to protect your family on the highway this holiday weekend? Your best protection against a deadly encounter with a drunk driver.. Is a buckled safety belt.  So Buckle-up. Slow Down. Drive Sober.

10 years of sobriety

By Meghann Ackerman
The Times-Georgian

Posted: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 2:07 AM EST

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February 15 is a special day for Audrey Smith. On that day in 1998, Smith decided she was going to stop using drugs. Ten years later she’s still clean and now helps other people fight their addictions to drugs and alcohol.

In 2001, Smith, 50, was hired as the case manager for Carroll County Drug Court, which, like Smith, is celebrating a 10th anniversary this year.

Since the day she was hired, Smith has been dedicated to Drug Court.

“I’ll be here until they burn the building down and then I’ll set up in the parking lot,” she said.

Smith’s job has tested her sobriety. When a client goes back to life of drugs or dies from their addictions, Smith said it’s hard on her. In 2006, her younger brother, Anthony North, died of a heart attack caused by his drug use.

“I’ve lost so many people,” she said. “The fact remains that my brother died and I had to go on. That’s what he’d want.”

During hard times, Smith remembers what she tells many of her clients about sobriety.

“You’re got to want it as bad you want that next hit,” she said.

Smith came from what she called a “healthy” family. When she was young, she and her two brothers traveled around the world because their father was in the Air Force. Eventually the family settled in Carrollton and Smith attended West Georgia College and the Massey School of Business in Atlanta. It was in college that she started using drugs.

“It started during the parties at college,” she said. “I made the choice to use drugs. No one put a gun to my head. Once I got into it, I didn’t know how to stop.”

The advent of crack in the 1980s furthered Smith’s drug use.

“That’s what I fell in love with cocaine,” she said.

Cocaine and crack were Smith’s drugs of choice and early on in her addiction she was able to afford her habit by having well-paying jobs.

“Back in the day, you were called a functional addict,” she said. “Pretty soon that money you make is going downhill.”

Eventually, Smith was no longer a functional addict. She left her children with her mother and was homeless for awhile. She was arrested 23 different times in Carroll County on shoplifting charges. Her parents assumed their daughter was going to die.

“My daddy told me, ‘We had to put insurance on you so we knew we’d have money to bury you,’” she said.

During one of her final appearances in court Superior Court Judge Aubrey Duffey had harsh words for Smith.

“The last time he said, ‘Miss Smith, I’m tired of you going in and out of my stores,’” she said.

On the four counts of shoplifting she was charged with, Smith said three were tried that day and she received a total of 15 years, of which she served 18 months. Although she was sober when she left jail, Smith said she didn’t stick with a treatment program.

Within three months of being free, Smith was using drugs again. On Feb. 15, 1998, she decided to change that and asked for help. The first step to getting better, she realized, was leaving Carroll County.

“Sometimes it takes a geographical change,” she said. “I had to stop speaking to my cousins and stop seeing my uncle and brother. Eventually, if you sit in a barbershop for long enough, you’re going to get a haircut.”

After six months at a treatment facility in Valdosta, Smith was a resident manager. But after a year of sobriety, she had to go back to jail for another count of shoplifting she had not answered for. This time, Smith said she used her 15 months in prison to improve herself by attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings and finding faith.

“This time I went in there and I did it right,” she said. “When I came out, I kept doing it.”

Meanwhile, the same judge who told Smith he was tired of dealing with her shoplifting charges and other members of the community had started Drug Court.

“I was the original Drug Court judge,” said Maryellen Simmons, who is now a public defender. “Judge Duffey wanted to start it and I was assigned as the judge.”

Tracy Wilson, a counselor and founder of the Carroll Meth Awareness Coalition, was the program’s treatment provider and director. She was also the parole board’s counselor and met Smith after she got out of jail the second time.

“I was doing all of the counseling for the parole board. She (Smith) had been running a half-way house she was living in south Georgia,” Wilson said. “She had gotten herself sober and was doing well, but she had to go back and answer for a crime that came up.”

When more funding became available for Drug Court, Wilson said she immediately thought of hiring Smith — who has lived what Drug Court aims to teach — as a case manager.

“It gives us an alternative to incarceration. It gives us an option that saves the county a lot of money. It also gives our citizens who have become addicted a chance to better themselves,” Wilson said.

Simmons said hiring Smith helped recovering addicts because they had someone who understood their troubles and how hard it is to stay sober.

“Being a recovered addict, she could relate to clients in a way Tracy and I couldn’t,” Simmons said. “Because she was going to meetings, she kept up with people. It’s really helpful that she understood what they were going through and what it takes to get them clean.”

Along with staying sober, Smith had to regain the trust of her family and friends.

“When my daughter was 6, I left her with my mom. I missed my son’s graduation because I was in prison. I can’t get that back, but I can be there for them now,” she said. “My grandbabies never saw me in addiction. I’ve got my diamond rings back. I don’t have to pawn them.”

When she’d walk into someone’s house, Smith said they would hide their valuables. Now, she said, she lives with her parents, who can trust her again; her father co-signed on the car she bought four years ago.

Smith said her 40s, her first sober decade, were the best years of her life.

“Today I am somebody. I’m a lady. I’m a woman of God who loves people,” she said. “I’ve been able to take a cruise. That’s something I used to think about when I was high.”

Wilson said Smith’s story is a model for what Drug Court aims to do.

“That is a huge accomplishment,” she said of Smith’s 10 years of sobriety. “She went from being a person who really was a drain on our community to someone who is putting it back together. That’s important: Giving back some of what you’ve taken away.”

In 2003, Susan Bagby took over as the director of Drug Court and immediately saw Smith’s dedication to the program and sobriety.

“She lives this,” Bagby said. “You can feel it exuding from her body how much she believes in recovery.”

Sometimes, though, Smith has to be reminded to slow down. In the past year she had three strokes. But health problems haven’t dampened Smith’s spirit. She laughs at how her life has turned around and credits her years of addiction for being able to help people now. Ten years ago, Smith said, she was looked down upon, but now she counts judges, lawyers and police officers among her friends.

“They believe in me. Now I have people who looked down on me years ago who call me for help,” she said. “Whoever thought a convicted felon would sit at a table with a judge?”

Helping addicts regain their lives is what Drug Court is designed to do.

“We recognized that sending people to prison wasn’t going to solve their problem,” Simmons said.

Participants in Drug Court have a strict set of rules they have to adhere to or they could be facing fines or jail time.

“First and foremost, they need to stay clean,” Bagby said.

Participants also need to have a job, attended regular counseling sessions, earn a GED or high school diploma and submit to regular drug testing.

“Staying busy is conducive to recovery,” Bagby said.

Although Drug Court, which is a two-year program, can have up to 50 participants, Bagby said there are 35 involved this year. Because of how hard recovery can be, some people chose not to participate or end up violating terms of their participation.

“We’re about half and half for successes and failures,” Bagby said. “We’ve had 11 graduates in the part 12 months and from what we know, most of them are doing well.”

In the past ten years, a total of 72 people have successfully completed Drug Court.

About a decade ago, research started appearing on the family dinner, and the news was uniformly good.

Children who ate with their families were less likely to do drugs, smoke, have eating disorders or become depressed. They were better at reading, less likely to end up in the hospital for asthma and had better grades. And perhaps most shocking of all, in rare instances they could apparently demonstrate exemplary table manners. (Scientists have been unable to replicate this last finding on a consistent basis, however.)

Dads and moms across the country took note and began rearranging schedules. Meeting were canceled, work dinners declined, tuna casseroles purchased. It worked. By 2005, a study conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse — one of the country’s foremost advocates of the dinner hour — indicated that the number of teenagers who ate with their families had increased by a whopping 23 percent since the late ’90s.

Now, there is no doubt that dinner is a noble pursuit. But research on its benefits does raise a question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

In other words, does dinner itself offer some magical protection, or is something else going on?

David Dickinson, a professor of education at Vanderbilt University, says this remains an open question.

“It’s possible that some of these findings are occurring because the ability to organize a mealtime and come together may be just one indicator of a family that is intact and functional,” Dickinson says.

Basically, strong families are able to sit down together each night and eat, and strong families — rather than regular meals — produce healthy kids.

A Closer Look

Dickinson has done his own research on the family meal. Several years ago, he and a group of researchers from Harvard wanted to figure out why some kids learned to read early while others lagged behind.

They did this by looking at family routines, such as how often families read to their children, ate with their children and played with their children. When they started the study, Dickinson says the group fully expected that reading would be the most important contributor to early literacy.

Instead, Dickinson says, they found that mealtimes “were a much stronger predictor of how later development would go for children’s language and literacy development.”

And so that was the headline: Family dinner equals early reading.

But as Dickinson will tell you, if you looked more deeply at the research you might come to a different conclusion. It turns out that the verbal content of dinner was really important. The kids who did well didn’t just eat dinner with families, they ate dinner with families that maintained complex conversations rich with explanation and storytelling.

“When a new word was used — like ‘reptile’ — the parent that would stop and say, ‘You know, like a snake’ — or say something that would give the child a definition of what that meant, and those interactions were very powerful,” Dickinson explains.

Dinner provided an opportunity for children to be exposed to these language behaviors on a regular basis. But dinner in a more-limited verbal environment apparently didn’t have the same effect.

And this kind of thing is true in a variety of studies on dinner. While the headlines tout the power of sitting together over a plate of meatloaf, often when you look beneath the surface, the clarity of that picture muddies.

Barbara Fiese, a professor at Syracuse University, produced a study which indicated that children with asthma who ate dinner with their families were less likely to end up in the emergency room. But as with the Dickinson study, it turned out that the specific behaviors that the families engaged in were critical to producing this result.

In order for the family dinner to have a benefit, parents had to demonstrate interest in a child’s day, regularly express empathy, and organize the dinner in a fairly specific way, such as assigning roles like table setting and making sure that family members began and finished dinner at the same time.

So is it possible for a dysfunctional family to sit down together each night and benefit?

“They can if the meal is conducted in a way to support healthy development,” Fiese says.

Don’t Dismiss Dinner

While it may be that the good news on dinner is premature, it’s also too early to dismiss the possibility that the meal itself substantively contributes to family well-being.

To answer this question, researchers need to do an experimental intervention where similar families are randomized into regular family meal groups and non-regular family meal groups. Thus far, no study of this kind has been undertaken.

In the meantime, as David Dickinson says, it’s probably a good idea to keep the dinner hour going. As he points out, dinner is one of the few times in modern life when families can sit down together, speak face to face, and build relationships. All things, he says, which simply can’t hurt.

Clarke County needs both a larger jail and more programs to rehabilitate criminals and ease them back into society, local judges told a new criminal justice task force Monday.

“The conditions (at the jail) are, in my opinion, horrific,” Athens-Clarke State Court Judge Kent Lawrence said. “The jail is just not, in my opinion, a suitable environment for the deputies who have to work there (and) the inmates being housed there. It’s a public safety issue.”

The population of the aging jail has exceeded the 338-inmate capacity for years, creating a dangerous environment for both deputies and inmates and costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to house inmates out of county, according to officials. Change is overdue, three judges and other county officials said.

Lawrence recommended larger holding cells at the Clarke County Courthouse, larger courtrooms at the jail and new technology to allow judges to hold hearings and lawyers to meet with clients via video, cutting down on transportation costs.

Poverty, illiteracy and unemployment are the root causes of the rising jail population, Clarke County Superior Court Judge David Sweat said. Most Superior Court defendents are indigent and “quasi-homeless,” so they’re hard to keep track of if they’re released and they can’t afford ankle monitors, Sweat and Judge Lawton Stephens said.

Many people are caught in a cycle - they are sentenced to probation, then steal or use drugs and wind up right back in jail, Sweat said.

“It’s the same folks,” he said. “We see them all the time.”

At any given time, 30 or 35 people are in jail because they didn’t pay child support, but they can’t pay it when they’re in custody and can’t work, Lawrence said. Such people need a work-release program where law enforcement can keep an eye on them but they can earn a living, he said.

The judges touted a diversion center scheduled for construction next year, drug, DUI and mental health courts and day centers where probationers report on a daily or weekly basis for counseling and treatment. Such programs reduce the chance of recidivism, and more are needed for offenders who aren’t considered dangerous, they said.

“We’re always looking for alternatives to incarceration,” Stephens said.

The task force will be responsible for overseeing planning for a new or expanded Clarke County jail, evaluating punishments and rehabilitation programs that don’t involve jail time and streamlining the overall criminal justice system to reduce overcrowding at the jail.

“I don’t think we’ve always had enough cooperation and collaboration, although I will tell you that is changing, and I’m very pleased,” Mayor Heidi Davison said.

The task force, chaired by Athens-Clarke commissioners Elton Dodson and Harry Sims, met for the first time Monday, but Davison won’t officially appoint its members until tonight’s commission meeting. They will include two lawyers, two University of Georgia law professors and three other Athens residents.

The task force is supposed to report to the commission by May, but Dodson already has said it’s likely to miss that deadline.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 020508

 February 5, 2008

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/020508/news_20080205032.shtml

The Georgia Power Foundation presented Friends of the Court with a $2,500 check Friday, Jan. 25, to help fund Burke County’s DUI/Drug Court. In a letter to the organization, Susan Carter, executive director of the Georgia Power Foundation, said they were glad to give support to a court that offers alcohol and drug recovery programs to its participants. Pictured are, from left, Georgia Power employee Louia Sapp; Betty White, public relations chairperson of Friends of the Court; Laura Riska, CSRA probation officer; State Court Judge Jerry Daniel; and John Hamilton, newly appointed DUI/ Drug Court coordinator.

January 29, 2008

The True Citizen

http://www.thetruecitizen.com/news/2008/0130/News/057.html

Recidivism rates drop dramatically for DUI court grads, study shows

By Stephen Gurr
sgurr@gainesvilletimes.com

document.write(writeModDate(”Dec. 9, 2007 4:05 a.m.”));POSTED  Dec. 9, 2007 4:05 a.m.

One after another, the stories of redemption for repeat DUI offenders were told by Hall County State Court Judge Charles Wynne in a recent courtroom graduation ceremony.

Janice changed her environment, went to church and resolved to only spend time with “positive people.”
Charles was ready to put a gun to his head and end his own life. Now he plans to enter the seminary.
Robert struck a tree in a drunk-driving wreck and thought he had hit a child. The waking nightmare served as his wake-up call.

Jesus used to come home drunk and have to make his own dinner. Now his wife has hand-made tortillas waiting for him after work.

A year after being ordered into Hall County’s DUI court, these participants and many others came through with changed lives, by their own accounts. And while the focus on the strict, three-stage program is on reducing recidivism, the personal transformations can’t be overlooked.

“Certainly the public safety aspect is first and foremost,” Wynne said. “But this program is also about lives that have been strengthened and families that have been restored.”

Now in its fourth year, Hall County’s DUI court has graduated 233 repeat offenders. They went through a 12-month period of forced sobriety that required court appearances every other week, regular drug and alcohol screens, home visits from deputies, group and individual therapy and mandatory Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Unlike Hall County’s felony drug court, the program is not voluntary, and no charges are dismissed upon its completion. It is ordered by the court as a condition of probation for most people who have been convicted of multiple DUI offenses.

Many, if not most, enter the program grudgingly. Some fail and serve out the balance of their probation in jail after progressively harsher punishments don’t bring compliance. Others emerge with praise for the program.

“When I first came into the program I didn’t have that warm, fuzzy feeling,” said 32-year-old Jason, who graduated from DUI court in 2006 and has returned since then to speak to participants at their commencement. “I was miserable. I just wasn’t putting myself into it.”

Six months into the program, he relapsed and was nabbed by a surprise drug test. He considers that relapse the turning point.

“At that point I actually realized what I wanted out of life, and it didn’t involve drugs and alcohol,” Jason said. “It was a chance to let my head clear up, get my life back on track and see all the positive things that come from being clean and sober.”

Jason credits DUI court with the life changes he’s seen, including several job promotions and a return to college to pursue a degree in social work.

“I look back on the program and see nothing but positives,” he said.

No gray areas
On a recent Thursday afternoon, there is a line of convicted drunk drivers who are not in the same place that Jason is today. On this day, they will be taken to task and handed the dreaded green sheet of paper that details their court-ordered sanctions, which can range from a day of sitting in court to community service to jail time.

Before entering the courtroom, they were required to blow into a hand-held alcohol sensor to prove they hadn’t been drinking.

State Court Solicitor-General Larry Baldwin calls out their names loudly, so that he can be heard above the low murmur of the crowded courtroom. They approach the podium to face the judge.

“Judge, (the participant) is struggling with her recovery,” Baldwin announces, before listing off her infractions.

Failure to arrive for scheduled drug screens. A positive screen for marijuana. Failure to attend AA meetings.

It’s not the first time she’s broken the rules, and on this day, she will leave the courtroom in handcuffs, escorted by a deputy to a holding cell. She will spend the next 18 days in jail, and be held to a dusk-to-dawn curfew for the five months following her release.

“You built yourself 18 days in jail,” Wynne tells the young, single mother. “I take no pleasure in sending you to jail, but there are consequences. Now, you can do this program, but you’re going to have to take it more seriously.”

Many people are taken off to jail on this Thursday. Most are “Phase One” participants, who have not, for whatever reasons, been able to stick to the regimented plan laid out for them and graduate to the next phase.

Stephanie Woodard, the defense attorney who acts as advocate for DUI court participants, says their success in the program “is entirely dependant on how much responsibility they take.”

Repeat offenders accustomed to using trade-offs and manipulations to get away with their transgressions will find no gray areas here, Woodard said.

“As a society, we learn to avoid consequences,” Woodard said. “And this program is about facing consequences.”

For every person sent to jail, however, there are that many and more in the so-called “good groups.”

These are brought before the judge en masse as Baldwin announces they have been following the program to the letter and will not be recommended for sanctions. They are rewarded with applause, something encouraged in accountability courts, and gift cards from local merchants like Sears and Longstreet Cafe that are given out by random drawing.

But Wynne is quick to note in an interview that his court “is not a program that is soft on repeat DUI offenders.”

“Rather, it’s something that combines an appropriate jail sentence with a structured program thereafter that helps address the underlying problem,” Wynne said. “Certainly jail has its place, but if you don’t address the underlying addiction problems, then you’re just delaying the person being back on the street, drinking and driving.”

Award-winning program
When Hall County started its DUI court in 2003, it was one of only three pilot programs in the state. There are now 13 DUI courts in Georgia, with Hall County’s program an acknowledged leader, said Jane Martin, associate director for children, families and the courts at Georgia’s Administrative Office of the Courts.

Martin points to a study that showed persons who were convicted of a repeat drunk-driving offense prior to the advent of Hall County’s DUI court were four times more likely to be caught driving drunk again within two years than the program’s graduates.

Only 5 percent of Hall County’s 233 DUI court graduates have committed another drunk-driving offense, compared with a recidivism rate of 19 percent for those who don’t go through the program, according to an independent study by Applied Research Services.

Wynne’s program is unique in that it is bilingual, offering a treatment track for Hispanic DUI offenders who speak little or no English. During a typical court hearing, as many as one-fifth of the participants are seated in a section of the gallery with an interpreter translating the proceedings for them.

The all-inclusive aspect of the program, combined with its statistically backed track record of success, helped earn Hall County’s DUI court recognition this year as Innovative Court Program of the Year from the Georgia Council of Court Administrators.

“You don’t get the award unless you’re an established program with proven effectiveness,” Martin said. “What Judge Wynne does is pretty incredible to me.”

Said Debbie Mott, assistant director for treatment services for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, “Those of us who call Hall County home are fortunate to have officials who believe in these programs, from judges to prosecutors to county commissioners.”

Wynne, who along with Baldwin and other court officials fit the DUI court into an already packed docket of cases, takes satisfaction in what he calls the “intangible rewards.”

“To hear a graduate thank this court program for allowing them to have their family back, to get their job back, to get their life back, those are priceless, intangible awards over and above the specific public safety benefits to this county,” Wynne said.

Said Baldwin, the prosecutor, “We always hear so much from the graduates: ‘I bought my first car. I bought my first house. I got my first promotion.’ We hear about a lot of firsts.”

On commencement day, new graduate Charles eagerly took the microphone to testify how the program and his own personal faith helped him turn his life around. “Today I have purpose in my life,” he said.

Staff Photo: Luanne Dietz
Dr. Philip D. Schroeder of Grayson United Methodist Church speaks to the graduates and those in attendance Thursday evening during the Gwinnett County Drug Court Program Graduation about having courage to continue and the importance of a second chance.

By Josh Green
Staff Writer, Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - It was a motley crew.A young mother. A bombastic party boy. Two aspiring rock stars. A former basketball player, a thankful immigrant and a teenage girl putting her tribulations behind her.But on Thursday night, the seven graduates of the Gwinnett County Drug Court each shared an optimism that had been clouded by addictions of various strains.“If I didn’t join Drug Court, I’d be dead,” said Julie, after tearfully accepting a diploma. Graduates’ last names are withheld to protect their identities. “I know I’m going to make it.”

BY ALAN RIQUELMY - ariquelmy@ledger-enquirer.com –

Donna Owen remembers the day her 17-year-old son was caught with drugs in his car. He was going to be the starting pitcher for his high school baseball team.

She held the hope that the telephone call from the principal telling her about the discovery was a mistake. She was wrong. That message changed her family’s life.

“He didn’t start pitching that day or any day,” she said, her words sometimes broken by emotion. “He got expelled.”

Some eight months after that day, her son and three others wore caps and gowns as they sat at the front of the assembly at the Columbus Government Center that had gathered on Tuesday in celebration of their successful completion of Drug Court. It’s a ceremony that occurs every three months in Columbus and across the country at countless drug courts.

“It’s to honor their hard work and success,” said Mary Bode, director of Drug Court. “There should be a formal ceremony.”

Juveniles who qualify for Drug Court enter a program that can last up to a year. They attend bi-weekly status hearings before a Juvenile Court judge, treatment and after-care proceedings. Upon successful completion of the program, their charges are dismissed and they can apply to have their record expunged.

Since its inception in October 2000, 201 juveniles have graduated the program in Muscogee County.

“They’re starting with a clean slate,” Bode said. “It’s huge.”

Crystal Wilson, parent of a girl who went through Drug Court a few years ago, encouraged the graduates to take advantage of that clean slate. She said it’s often easy to fall back into old patterns and associate with old friends not healthy for a drug-free life. Instead, she said the graduates shouldn’t be afraid to get outside their comfort zones and wait until they meet people who will be good friends.

“Your past does not determine your present or your future,” Wilson said. “You can make choices today that will affect who you want to be.”

Mayor Jim Wetherington referred to his days as the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections, saying he watched inmates go through the revolving doors of the justice system over and over. He commended the graduates for avoiding that cycle and taking control of their lives.

“We all make mistakes in life,” Wetherington said. “It takes a special person, it takes a caring family to get that person where he needs to be.”

For Owen, it also takes Drug Court.

“I am very proud to be standing here,” she said.

Contact Alan Riquelmy at 706-571-8622

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) won approval Thursday for an amendment that substantially increases funding for the nation’s drug courts, which he said get better results and cost less money than the traditional court system when it comes to fighting illegal drug use.

Dorgan’s amendment increases funding for the drug court system from the $25 million originally included in the bill to $40 million. President Bush’s Fiscal Year 2008 Budget recommended no funding for the courts.

North Dakota has seven drug courts, for adults and juveniles, in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot and one tribal drug court, for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

“A top priority of any program that aims to combat drug abuse in this country has to be helping those now addicted to get free of that addiction,” Dorgan said. “The drug courts have a remarkable track record of doing that, providing treatment and rehabilitation where once there was only incarceration.”

Dorgan noted a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study which found that offenders who go through the drug court system, rather than the traditional court system, have lower re-arrest and conviction rates.

Drug courts are also a smart investment, Dorgan said. “They not only help drug users get off drugs, they save taxpayers’ money. Incarcerating a drug offender costs between $20,000 to $50,000 per year. It costs just $2,500 to $4,000 for a comprehensive drug court program. Better results at less cost. That’s a pretty good combination.”

North Dakota’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle was among those who welcomed news of the Senate’s action. “I am pleased to learn that Senator Dorgan was successful in his efforts to increase the appropriation for Drug Courts to $40 million in the Senate,” he said. “Drug Courts have been successful in North Dakota and this will assist us in the continuation and expansion of this worthwhile program.”

Under the drug court program, non-violent offenders, who plead guilty and who want to tackle their addiction problems undergo a rigorous monitoring and treatment program. It includes participation in intensive treatment programs, random drug tests, required attendance at AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) or NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings, regular meetings with a probation officer, and a strict at-home curfew.

Dorgan’s amendment was accepted by the Senate as part of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill now being considered on the Senate floor.

This press release was launched through the Senator’s website, which may be accessed at http://dorgan.senate.gov.

Key Amendment to Senate CJS Appropriations Bill Matches

House-Approved Historical Mark

  Washington, D.C. – The Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Bill for FY2008 came to the Senate floor today, and with the unanimous passage of an amendment first proposed by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), the drug court funding levels were returned to the historical average $40 million mark for the first time since 2005. Though the House of Representatives had passed the spending measure at the $40 million mark, the Senate Appropriations Committee had approved only $25 million for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program prior to Senator Dorgan’s amendment proposal.

“This is a great day for drug courts.” said NADCP Chief Executive Officer West Huddleston. “Today, Congress secured a second chance for hundreds of thousands of citizens caught in the cycle of addiction and crime, giving them and their families tremendous hope. This critical investment in drug courts will yield innumerable returns for thousands of communities across this nation such as improved public safety and civility by reducing drug dependence and associated crime one life at a time.”  

Though historically receiving an average $40 million appropriation through the DOJ discretionary grant program, drug court funding suffered deep cuts in FY2006, falling 75% to $10 million, which was carried over in the Continuing Resolution for FY2007.

“We are deeply grateful to Senator Barbara Mikulski, Chairwoman of the CJS Appropriation Subcommittee, and Senator Richard Shelby, Ranking Member of the CJS Appropriation Subcommittee, for working with Senators Biden, Dorgan, Hagel, Levin, Reed, and Stabenow to include $40 million in the FY 2008 Commerce, Justice Science Appropriations bill for the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program,” added Mr. Huddleston. “This incredible achievement could not have happened without the strong support of the over 34 Members of the Senate who signed a letter in support of $40 million for the program earlier this year.  Those Senators include Senator Harkin and Senator Durbin both members of the CJS Appropriations Subcommittee.  Drug court judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, treatment providers, administrators, probation agents and law enforcement officers throughout the nation joined forces with NADCP and worked tirelessly over the past nine months to demonstrate the necessity of restoring drug court funding.  The Senate and the House listened and responded with overwhelming support.”