DRUG COURT MAKES TREATMENT AN ALTERNATIVE TO PRISON

JOHNSTOWN - Bob began drinking regularly when he was 13.

Beer was his beverage. For much of the next 30 years, he drank at least a
12-pack a day, sometimes a full case.

Somehow, through three arrests for driving while intoxicated, a failed
marriage and a myriad of other drinking-related problems, he managed to
work two jobs.

He described himself in that former "horrible life" as a "functional
alcoholic." But then his drinking backed him into a corner.

Within a two-day period last year, he was arrested twice on charges of
felony DWI - the last, his fifth DWI since 1974. He was facing a prison
term of 1 to 4 years.

Bob, who agreed to tell his story if his real identity were concealed, may
be one of the lucky ones. When he was arrested in early 1999, a new program
for alcoholics and drug addicts was operating in Fulton County Court: Drug
Court. Drug Court staff evaluated Bob, who had no history of violence and
whose scrapes with police were all related to his addiction. They decided
he was a good candidate for participation.

Bob has been sober for nearly a year and remains committed to the rigorous
compliance regimen of treatment, counseling and court appearances that Drug
Court officials require. If he can complete the three-year program, he will
avoid prison. More important, officials contend, successful participants
will lead productive lives, unburden police and the court system of their
frequent troubles and save public money that otherwise would be spent on
their incarceration.

Fulton County Drug Court, one of more than 30 now operating in New York
state and one of approximately 400 nationwide, has saved taxpayers - by
conservative estimates - more than $150,000, said Jackie Jones, drug court
coordinator. What began as a pilot program in mid-1998 now serves more than
20 defendants. Fulton County started the first drug court in the 11-county
Fourth Judicial District. It is the second in the greater Capital Region,
following the example of Rensselaer County, which established its program
in 1997.

Now, Albany and Schenectady counties are planning programs of their own.

"Drug court was not forced on me; it was a choice I had and it was a wise
choice," Bob said in a recent interview. "There are requirements, but, to
be honest, there's nothing they require you to do that can't be done. It's
a matter of if you're willing or not," he said.

Candidates have to be ready to make the commitment, which begins with an
in-patient treatment program of 28 to 30 days. During the ensuing four to
six months, participants often live in a halfway house while they attend
five hours of daily out-patient treatment at St. Mary's Hospital in
Amsterdam. An after-care regimen conducted through Fulton County
Alcoholism Services follows, providing counseling and group support.
Participants meet as often as weekly with a case manager, attend mandatory
AA meetings, and report regularly in court before Drug Court Judge Richard
C. Giardino.

"They're being watched very, very closely," Jones said.

Some defendants deemed eligible have told Jones, "No thanks, Lady, I'll do
my jail time." On the other hand, Jones said, "Not everybody who wants drug
court can get into drug court."

Many of the candidates selected are ready for the commitment, said Drug
Court prosecutor Louise Kauffman Sira, an assistant district attorney for
Fulton County. "They've lost marriages because of their drinking or drug
problems, they've lost kids, they've lost jobs. With the exception of some
of the younger defendants," she said, "they are at a point in their lives
where they've reached the end of their ropes."

After months in the program, participants "are realizing they do have other
life problems and they are learning they can deal with them in a sober
manner," said Stephen A. Syzdek, another Drug Court prosecutor. Drug court
is making a difference for both defendants and society, Syzdek said.

"People who go to jail or prison as alcoholics or drug addicts complete
their terms and return to society as alcoholics or drug addicts. All you're
doing," he said of traditional sentencing, "is getting them off the streets
for a few years."

"Public Safety is the first concern," said Judge Giardino. Violent
offenders are screened out, he said. When candidates are chosen, he said,
"we feel this is safer for the public because they're under such strict
monitoring. If I sent them to jail or prison," he said, "they would do
their time and return to their former lifestyles, posing a greater risk to
the public."

Coming to Albany

Larry Wiest, Albany County chief assistant district attorney, said he is
excited about the drug court program his county soon will offer in Albany
City Court and then expand to town courts in Bethlehem and Colonie.

"I think it's going to be a great enhancement to the criminal justice
system and probably long overdue," he said.

When Albany County officials began planning their program, Wiest said, he
approached a veteran narcotics investigator. "Can I talk to you about drug
court?" Wiest asked.

The investigator replied immediately in the affirmative.

"I don't have to sell you?" Wiest asked.

"No," said the investigator, "nothing else is working."

While drug court focuses on a small minority of drug and DWI defendants,
Wiest said, the effort is still worthwhile. "The whole purpose of this is
to break a cycle of addiction and to recognize there are certain crimes
driven by a need to obtain drugs. It might be only one defendant, but if
we're successful in breaking the cycle of addiction of just one defendant,
it could eliminate numerous crimes that individual might eventually commit."

Albany County will begin its program with a 25-defendant cap, he said.

Rensselaer County, which coordinates its Drug Court through the Treatment
Alternative to Street Crime Program, or TASC, graduates about 25 defendants
a year.

"Because of a vigorous screening process and the diligence of TASC and
[Rensselaer County Court] Judge [Patrick J.] McGrath, the program seems to
be succeeding," said Rensselaer County District Attorney Kenneth R. Bruno.

There have been few failures in the Rensselaer County program, said Bruno's
spokesman, Kris Thompson.

A drug court program is under study in Schenectady County. District
Attorney Robert M. Carney said he and a number of judges are interested in
the sentencing alternative. "There is a certain category of defendants who
might be better served if we could deal with their addictions," Carney
said. Traditionally, he said, "we've always put them in prison."

Carney said he envisions working with about 25 defendants a year.

Court monitoring

In a recent court session in Fulton County Drug Court, Judge Giardino
called up the participants one at a time. "What did you do on New Year's
Eve?" he asked each one. All attested that they avoided drugs or alcohol,
and most claimed to have retired early.

"I'm taking it one day at a time, like they say," said one woman of her
newfound temperance. "My kids are proud of me," she told Giardino.

One participant skipped a day-treatment appointment the day after
Christmas. Giardino warned him that if there is a second violation,
"there's going to be something attached to not complying with requirements."

Giardino said he has sent four participants to jail for brief periods to
remind them of their need to stay committed. The one program failure was
sentenced to prison after a new arrest for DWI.

Staying sober Brian and Chris are brothers in their early 20s. Officials
said Brian had been in jail 10 times and was getting arrested an average of
once every three months. Since entering the program nearly two years ago,
he has had no police contact.

"I got tired of it," Brian said of his past lifestyle. "I have a 3-year-old
son."

Brian, whose arrest for felony criminal contempt in 1998 brought him to the
attention of Drug Court officials, was accustomed to getting high daily on
drugs or alcohol. He said he regularly used LSD and marijuana and cocaine
when he could get it.

Chris was arrested the last time for felony DWI after leading police on a
car chase. After a half-year in the program, Chris said, "I can actually
get up at 6 o'clock. I was going to bed at 6 o'clock."

The sober life, said Brian, "is like moving to a foreign country.
Everything has totally changed." Each of the brothers tells of near-death
experiences from drug and alcohol abuse.

Had they been sentenced as traditional defendants, the brothers are certain
they would have served their time and reverted to their former habits.
"We'd be going back to the same exact thing we were doing," said Brian, who
added, "that would be a lot worse than jail."

The brothers and Bob are all optimistic they will conquer their addictions.

"But," Bob said, "there are no guarantees. I can tell you now that things
are great. But who knows what tomorrow will bring. I could be fine today
and drunk tomorrow. That's a fact of addiction," he said.