PROTOCOL FOR DRUG COURT TO BE DETERMINED

Sixth Judicial District Judge Carol Person and other members of the
criminal justice system will be meeting in the next few months to determine
St. Louis County's drug court protocol.

One of the issues they'll have to resolve is whether the drug defendant has
to admit guilt to be accepted into the program.

Hennepin County does not require the defendant to admit guilt, but the
person has to commit to the drug court treatment as conditions of their
pretrial release.

The Duluth drug court will also have to determine who is eligible for its
program.

Person, 6th Judicial District Chief Judge Gary Pagliaccetti; Northeastern
Minnesota Chief Public Defender Fred Friedman; John DeSanto, head of the
criminal division of the St. Louis County Attorney's office; Duluth Police
Sgt. Dennin Bauers, supervisor of the special investigations unit; and Tom
Roy, chief probation officer for Arrowhead Regional Corrections have agreed
upon a tentative list of criteria for acceptance into drug court.

One criterion is that the drug defendant has significant ties to Duluth.

"We don't want somebody to come in from Chicago or Detroit, or Gary,
Indiana, or wherever selling drugs and then get the benefit of our
treatment programs," Person said. "We want this to be for people who are
committed to live and work here in Duluth and who are willing to and ready
to work on their addictions."

Duluth's drug court committee has set up the following tentative criteria
for acceptance into its program:

Those arrested or charged in St. Louis County District Court with
possession of controlled substances would be eligible.

Those arrested or charged with possession with intent to sell would be
considered on a case-by-case basis.

Those charged with drug-related offenses such as felony theft, forgery and
embezzlement committed for the purpose of raising money to feed a drug
addiction would be allowed to petition for admission into drug court if
certain conditions are met.

There must be a reasonable basis to believe the offender can successfully
complete the drug court program.

The defendant can have no prior adult or juvenile sex or violent crime
offenses with few exceptions.

The prosecutor may remove the offender from drug court, within 14 days, if
law enforcement requests the offender be excluded for public safety reasons.

The defendant can have no holds from any other jurisdiction.

Defendants must demonstrate that the Duluth area is their residence through
family, job or school ties.

The defendant must demonstrate a willingness to participate in intensive
treatment and education and must submit to close monitoring and drug testing.

Anyone who faces new felony charges for crimes against property or persons
committed while the offender is an active participant in the program will
face ouster.

Participation in the drug court program will not bar prosecution for any
other current offenses.