SUCCESSOR SOUGHT FOR DRUG COURT'S JOHNSON

Even though District Judge O.L. "Pete" Johnson has retired, the Drug
Court he founded in Jefferson County will continue to provide a
treatment alternative to prison for nonviolent drug offenders.

Johnson's replacement will run the Drug Court, a nationally
recognized program that boasts almost 2,300 graduates in 11 years.

"The court has been such a success that whoever replaces Judge
Johnson will run the court," said Circuit Judge Scott Vowell, the
presiding judge in Jefferson County. "It's done too much good and
it's been too successful to let it go."

But the person appointed to replace Johnson will be crucial for the
court's long-term success, said Foster Cook, director of the
Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham, which administers the program.

"If we don't get the right person in there who believes in it and
sees it as an opportunity, we'll lose momentum," he said. "That's
really important for managing cases through the system and keeping
people out of prison and the county jail who don't need to be there."

Twenty-eight people applied for Johnson's seat.

The county's Judicial Qualification Commission selected three
finalists last week : W. Davis Lawley Jr., Mary Kay Laumer and Alan
Baty. Gov. Bob Riley will appoint the judge, and the seat will be
open for election in 2008.

In the Drug Court, people arrested for possession are diverted into
an intensive treatment program, which also requires the client to
hold a job and perform community service.

Graduation takes a minimum of 6 months for people with no prior
convictions and 12 months for the rest. But some need more time.

"Sometimes it takes three or four years," said Johnson, who has
continued to handle a full docket, even though he retired Nov. 30.
"Some courts only allow 18 months. But what if someone needs more
than 18 months? Why not take longer, if it turns them around?"

That level of patience and an understanding of the medical aspects of
addiction will be important for the next Drug Court judge, Cook said.

"There's a need to take the long view," he said. "They didn't get
there overnight. It's a chronic, relapsing disorder."

Jefferson County also has an adult drug court in Bessemer Cutoff, and
a juvenile program in Birmingham's Family Court. They also are
administered by TASC. Shelby County also has a drug court, and
Alabama's new chief justice, Sue Bell Cobb, wants to establish drug
courts in all 67 counties.

Johnson's court was a featured stop for participants in the National
TASC conference held in Birmingham in September.

"It's a national model," Vowell said. "The Drug Court is one of the
most important things we do."

Johnson is the third District Court judge to announce his retirement this year.

Riley appointed Norman G. Winston Jr. last month to replace John
Alsbrooks on the civil court bench. A series of specially appointed
judges have taken over the criminal docket of retired Judge Robert
Cahill. Katrina Ross, elected in November to replace Cahill, will
take office next month.

Staying on a year:

Johnson said he will stay on until his successor is named. And then
he will continue to supervise his current caseload for at least 12 months.

"It would be overwhelming for a new judge to come in with 700 pending
cases," he said.

Johnson's Drug Court is very much a reflection of his personality,
which Johnson has described as hard-boiled but compassionate for
those truly trying to make a change. The new judge will put his or
her own stamp on the court, Vowell said.

The Drug Court is a worthwhile effort, Cook, Vowell and Johnson said.

"We take addicts who are not productive, who would steal to support
themselves and their habit and we teach them to live drug free - to
get to work and pay taxes, instead of ripping us off," Johnson said.
"Every time we can turn somebody around, everybody wins."