DAVIDSON'S DRUG COURT CITED AS MODEL FOR NATION

Davidson County's felony Drug Court received a major plug this week when
the Bush administration cited it as a model for the rest of the nation.

Congress also has given its stamp of approval on the court by giving it $1
million.

"It is a model program," Jennifer de Vallance, a spokeswoman for the Office
of the National Drug Control Policy, said. "It has been very effective at
diverting people from the criminal justice system to get nonviolent
offenders the help that they need while still holding them accountable for
staying drug-free."

The Drug Court, which was founded by Criminal Court Judge Seth Norman in
1997, was featured in a National Drug Control Strategy report released this
week. The court is the only one in the nation with a residential treatment
facility.

Norman, who presides over the court, will be meeting with drug czar John
Walters in Washington on Tuesday. Norman thinks drug courts will become
increasingly used because of the cost of imprisoning nonviolent drug addicts.

"They're going to be forced to," he said. "They just can't keep building
jail cells."

The judge also thinks that violent offenders will probably get out of
prison early because drug addicts are overcrowding penal institutions.

Norman, who says he's received phone calls from all over the country about
his court, is drawing up guidelines on how the court and its treatment
facility run.

The court was highlighted in the national report, which stated one of the
administration's top three priorities in the war on drugs is healing
America's drug users. Stopping drug use before it starts and disrupting the
market are the other main goals.

"Please understand. I don't believe in treatment in lieu of punishment,"
the judge said. "I believe in treatment in conjunction with punishment."

Using an intense inpatient treatment facility, heavy supervision and
structure, the Drug Court has one of the best recidivism rates in the
country. Only 16% to 17% of Drug Court graduates are convicted of another
crime, Norman said.

Addicts aren't allowed to sit around and watch TV or listen to music. They
have structured activities, and if they don't follow the rules, they go to
prison.

About 35% drop out of the program, many because they won't do what they're
told or just think it's easier to go to jail, Norman said.

Addicts also have to get a job and work 90 days before they can graduate
from the program.

Many spend as long as 15 months to two years in the program. Much of that
time is at the residential treatment facility in Bordeaux.