DRUG COURT FALLS VICTIM TO BUDGET

LAREDO - With no state or federal aid, Webb County officials say
they have little choice but to eliminate a special court created in
the mid-1990s to promptly dispose of drug cases.

The county's drug impact court, one of about 10 in the state, is
falling victim to budget cutbacks.

State District Judge Manuel Flores said the county was faced with
either keeping the court or not having enough money to provide legal
representation for the poor as quickly as new laws mandate.

"It's not an easy decision to make," Flores said.

The county opted to be in compliance with the Fair Defense
Act.

Webb County Auditor Leo Flores said next year's budget reallocates
about $300,000 to a pretrial services division that otherwise would
have paid for the drug court's operation.

Joseph Trotter Jr., director of American University's Justice Program
Office in Washington, said that while the number of drug impact courts
is rising, some are closing.

"That's affecting a number of courts around the country, because they
can't get more than three years of federal funding," Trotter said.

The U.S. Department of Justice has been awarding annual grants to drug
impact courts since 1995, although the first was established in 1989
in Miami.

Trotter said the courts were viewed in the mid-'90s as an innovative
approach in helping nonviolent offenders cope with their drug problems.

"They've seen less people come through the revolving door," he said.
"They've gone through an enforced treatment program with the kinds of
reinforcement that the court can give."

Judge Flores said that for Webb County, the drug impact court and its
five employees helped process a backlog of nonviolent drug cases for
state and, up until 1997, federal authorities.

The judge said without the court, justice could come slowly in Webb
County."If everybody asks for a jury trial, then you'll have a backlog
of cases building pretty quickly," he said.