But nobody could save the drug court.
Beginning in 1994, Denver had a full-time district-court judge handling most of the city's drug cases in an attempt to get addicts into treatment rather than simply cycle them through the prison system ("A Chemistry Experiment," September 26, 2002). An individual arrested for felony possession had the option of entering drug court, where, as long as a prosecutor was willing to exchange a deferred sentence for a guilty plea, he was ordered into treatment. Each participant agreed to undergo regular urine tests; if any showed traces of illegal drugs, the user was sentenced to a short stint in Denver County Jail. After that, he was given another chance to stay clean.
But although the Denver Drug Court, one of many across the nation, was hailed as having a winning formula, it was disbanded earlier this year. The roughly 2,000 annual drug cases were divided up among seven criminal- court judges, because many of the district-court judges felt that Drug Court left their already crowded dockets burdened with greater caseloads.
"We no longer have a courtroom with a philosophy of healing," says Adam Brickner, director of the Mayor's Office of Drug Strategy. "Without the judges on board, it's very difficult. We have seven different judges with seven different philosophies."
Despite the loss of a Drug Court judge, however, many aspects of the program have been retained. For instance, addicts willing to submit to regular drug testing and accept treatment of some kind can still receive deferred sentences under the supervision of the court magistrate, and Denver continues to host a twelve-step program as well as a monthly graduation ceremony for those who successfully complete a treatment program.
"I think our goal in the reorganization was to preserve all the good parts of Drug Court, not to felonize people, and to provide treatment opportunities," says District Court Chief Judge Jeff Bayless. "Those things are still there, and I'm pleased with the way things are going."
But the loss of a full-time judge means that it takes longer for drug addicts to be steered into treatment, which, says deputy district attorney Greg Long, is a big problem.
"It used to be I could name the issue at 8:05 on Monday and have it settled by 8:15. Now I may not get the problem addressed for a month," he explains. "I think drug cases are clogging up the other courtrooms."
Drug Court wanted addicts put into treatment as soon as possible, on the assumption that delays in getting them into court would only give them more time to get in trouble. Now it usually takes two weeks for addicts to be assigned to a magistrate so that they can begin regular drug testing.
"It is far more difficult for us to get to the same result, but we still see some good results every day," Long adds. "There's more we could do, but we're still making a difference. I hear addicts routinely say they're grateful for the opportunities they've had. You never know at what point people will decide to haul themselves up by their bootstraps."
