LAW OFFERS TREATMENT, NOT TIME

Prop. 36: For Yatzie Dee, A Drug Arrest Means A Residential Program

With marijuana stuffed in his right pants pocket and methamphetamine
stashed in his left sock, Yatzie Dee pedaled through a downtown Riverside
stop sign and unwittingly entered the world of Prop. 36.

A police officer saw the infraction near Third and Mulberry streets,
stopped the bicyclist and seized the drugs in the waning minutes of Sunday,
July 1.

Dee, who is homeless, went to court four days later and ended up in
residental drug treatment. If his arrest had occurred 24 hours earlier, he
probably would have been sentenced to jail.

Prop. 36, the sweeping law that offers treatment for nonviolent drug users
instead of jail or prison, took effect Sunday throughout California.

Inland Empire courts, already known for their successful drug-court
programs, simply added Prop. 36 to the menu.

"It really has gone very smoothly," said Riverside County Superior Court
Judge Richard Fields, who referred a dozen people to treatment under Prop.
36 the first week.

San Bernardino County officials also reported a mostly glitch-free Prop. 36
debut.

"Everyone is doing their best to make it work," said James Hackleman,
assistant San Bernardino County district attorney.

"Overall, we've been pleased with the implementation the first week."

A national drug policy group last week gave San Bernardino County an F for
its Prop. 36 planning efforts, which local officials firmly disputed. The
Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation said Riverside County's
preparation earned a C, which Fields criticized as inaccurate.

'I want to get well'

Dee may have been the most appreciative beneficiary of Prop. 36 in Fields'
courtroom this week.

"Your honor, I screwed up and I apologize," Dee told Fields. "I want to get
well."

His lawyer, Riverside County Deputy Public Defender Scott Kirkendall, said
the law overwhelmingly passed by voters last November was made for people
like Dee.

Kirkendall represented many of the initial Prop. 36 defendants in Fields'
court, but "he's the first guy so willing to admit he had a problem."

Dee, with his weathered, angular face framed by shoulder-length hair, is a
week shy of his 50th birthday, but looks a decade past it.

Dee has gotten breaks in court before but did not follow through with drug
treatment. When he was arrested Sunday, Dee had two misdemeanor drug
warrants out on him after he failed to appear in court.

This time, he said, it will be different.

"That's very encouraging," Fields told Dee.

Before Prop. 36, Kirkendall said, Dee would have been sentenced to jail and
with perhaps some opportunity for drug treatment "but nothing as
comprehensive" as he received in court Thursday.

Fields said Dee's case was processed as efficiently as the other Prop. 36
cases he saw this week.

The key, he said, is that Department of Mental Health evaluators and
probation officers are in the courtroom with a fast-track, teamwork
mentality. Arraignment and sentence typically occur within minutes.

Cases prescreened

Prosecutors prescreen cases to make sure a defendant is eligible for Prop.
36 treatment, and evaluators spend a half-hour or more interviewing each
defendant, Fields said.

Lawyers review an evaluator's recommendation while the probation officer
works out the terms of probation for the defendant.

"They go immediately into the (treatment) program, and no one is turned
away due to lack of funds," Fields said.

The treatment ranges from 16 weeks of classes to 16 weeks of outpatient
treatment to long-term residental treatment. Dee will be at his facility
for at least 90 days, and Fields ordered him to return to court Oct. 31 for
a progress report.

San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Patrick Morris also stressed the
importance of multi-agency teamwork in handling about 30 Prop. 36 cases
this week.

"We've got a great team. Thankfully, we're a treatment court and we're
equipped to handle this," said Morris, considered one of the country's
leading drug-court experts.

One downside has been the slow processing of former state prisoners
eligible for treatment because the system lacks coordination with parole
officials, he said.

Hackleman said his office has had to clarify Prop. 36 eligibility standards
to make sure those who would benefit from treatment receive it.

In Riverside, some people eligible for Prop. 36 treatment this week opted
instead for short jail sentences because it enabled them to wrap up their
cases sooner, Fields said.

Richard West, a Riverside County supervising deputy district attorney, said
Prop. 36 "seems to be working out pretty well" in the Riverside court.

"It's going to take a while to find out if the program succeeds. A lot
depends on how many follow through on the treatment offered and how many
stop taking drugs," he said.

PROP. 36

* Expected to reduce prison and jail operating costs.

* $ 60 million initial start-up budget statewide ($ 2.2 million for
Riverside County, $ 2.8 million for San Bernardino County).

* Anyone convicted of a nonviolent drug-possession felony or misdemeanor is
eligible for probation with the condition of completing a drug-treatment
program.

SOURCE: STATE LEGISLATIVE ANALYST