COBB DRUG COURT OFFERS 2ND CHANCES

Cobb County is rolling out a "new, improved version" of the state's first
drug court, established there in 1992.

The new court, beginning Monday, will be limited to first offenders and
rely upon intensive drug and alcohol addiction treatment. The original
court, which will continue, emphasizes efficient handling of cases against
dealers.

The new court is expected to have a caseload of 100 defendants by the end
of the first year, said administrator Kristie Gaskin. On Tuesday, at the
first meeting of the court's admission panel, only one of two potential
defendants was accepted, said Superior Court Judge George Kreeger.

"We decided that the other candidate was just too far gone to benefit,"
Kreeger said.

The idea of the court is to give first offenders an opportunity to get off
the hook before they establish a criminal record.

In exchange for possibly having their cases dismissed, participants agree
to attend weekly reviews and have random drug tests, Kreeger said. Only
nonviolent drug offenders will be referred by the Cobb County district
attorney's office. Defendants must be facing a first felony, be 17 or
older, and be charged with simple possession or prescription forgery, court
administrator Skip Chesshire said.

Kreeger will oversee the court and decide on treatment requirements in
consultation with addiction specialists. Defendants who successfully
complete the program will have their charges dismissed, he said.

"The emphasis is on treatment because the goal is to turn them into
productive members of the community," Kreeger said.

Defendants will be charged a participation fee, based upon their income,
according to Chesshire. Treatment will be provided by WellStar Health
System, for $2,400 per defendant, Cheshire said. Start-up costs were
$122,000 for staff and equipment, he said. Gaskin, a licensed drug abuse
counselor with six years' experience, and one assistant are the court's
only full-time employees.

The new program, which Kreeger said was envisioned by chief Superior Court
Judge Michael Stoddard, has the enthusiastic backing of the judge who
started Cobb's first drug court.

"I see this as taking the next step," said Superior Court Judge Jim
Bodiford, who began the original drug court in 1992, when he was the
county's chief magistrate judge. "This is Cobb's new, improved drug court
because it treats the cause of criminal behavior."

Cobb's magistrate drug court was metro Atlanta's first drug court. It
opened three years after the nation's first drug court was started in
Miami. Cobb is the only county in Georgia with both types of drug courts,
Bodiford said.

The new court is modeled on the nation's third drug court, established in
Buffalo, N.Y. That program, which has operated since 1992, now treats about
700 participants a year, Gaskin said. Cobb's court has been structured to
avoid some of the problems experienced by the nation's earliest efforts,
she said.

"Some of the first programs didn't keep good records and didn't know their
rates of success, but we'll track participants from day one."