DRUG TREATMENT INITIATIVE BLASTED:

DA, Judge Candidate Hit Prop. 36

Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully called Proposition 36 a
criminal justice "mockery" Wednesday, saying it would undermine
court-sanctioned drug treatment programs already in place.

Superior Court judicial candidate Don Steed joined Scully in the news
conference attacking the initiative that seeks to treat drug users as sick
people with underlying illnesses rather than as criminals who need to be
incarcerated.

Steed's opponent, Trena Burger, who was not invited to the event outside
the Capitol, accused him of violating the judicial code of ethics by
speaking out on a controversy "that could come before the courts." Steed
said his remarks didn't violate the code.

Scully, in calling the November ballot initiative "a thinly disguised
attempt to legalize dangerous drugs," predicted that passage of the the
measure would "create (an) environment in which crime flourishes" by
sharply restricting the ability of judges to jail or imprison drug
offenders who fail at treatment.

"Proposition 36 strips the courts of any effective sanction for
non-compliance with treatment programs," she said. "It undermines
California's legitimate treatment programs and seriously weakens anti-drug
laws by giving felony drug abusers a get-out-of-jail-free card."

The initiative seeks to subject people arrested for personal possession of
drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine to court-mandated
treatment programs. The measure contains a $120 million provision to fund
the programs. The state Legislative Analyst's Office says the measure would
save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by diverting 36,000 drug
possession offenders from jails and prisons.

Opponents say it poses a major threat to public safety by removing drug
users who steal and rob and sometimes kill to support their habits from
criminal sanctions for simple possession of the illicit substances.

Dave Fratello, a spokesman for the Yes on Prop. 36 campaign, disagreed that
the initiative poses a threat to public safety. He said the measure would
reduce drug-related crime by doubling state spending on programs to treat
addiction and it includes sanctions for offenders who flout them.

"While we're offering a helping hand through the system, it's not a free
ride," Fratello said. "If you don't take the treatment seriously, if you
don't make a commitment to getting off drugs, then real jail time does
await. It's more of a modification around the edges of the current system
than a relaxation of the laws."

Scully portrayed the measure as a danger to alternative sentencing
sanctions that judges already are employing in drug cases.

First-time offenders have the right under the Penal Code to be diverted
into drug treatment. If they reoffend, they can choose to go into drug
court, where their guilty pleas would be dismissed if they complete their
programs. Scully said 302 offenders in Sacramento County opted for drug
court in 1999 and 96 of them "graduated" from programs. Third offenses
typically result in probation and more treatment -- usually with no jail
time, according to Scully, although incarceration is possible if users fail
the programs.

"Proposition 36 makes a mockery of our current system of criminal justice
for drug abusers," she said.

Fratello countered that drug courts are reaching only 5 percent of
drug-possession defendants, and 1998 Department of Justice data show 37,000
people incarcerated for possession offenses.

"If they're saying that most people are going to diversion, how can they
explain these numbers produced by the state that show overwhelmingly that
people are going to jail?" Fratello said.

In backing up Scully, Steed, who is a deputy district attorney, called the
proposition "dangerous and very misleading." He called the drug court
system already in place "very successful."

Burger, a civil lawyer opposing Steed for the vacancy on the Superior Court
bench, charged that he violated the code of judicial ethics.

She cited a paragraph in a pamphlet published by the California Judges
Association Committee on Judicial Ethics that says, "Candidates may not
make statements that commit or appear to commit the candidate with respect
to cases, controversies or issues that could come before the courts."

She declined to discuss her position on the ballot measure.

Steed said his interpretation of the code is that he can discuss "an issue
that has a direct effect on the court." He also said he spoke as a
prosecutor and as the president of the Sacramento County District Attorneys
Association.

He was identified in a press release by the No on Proposition 36 campaign
as "judicial candidate Don Steed."