NEW COURT WILL FOCUS ON DRUG ABUSERS

Dupage Effort To Target Non-Violent Offenders

Hardly a day goes by in a DuPage County criminal courtroom without a
defense attorney telling a judge that drug use was the cause of his or
her defendant's crime.

When Illinois Atty. Gen. James Ryan was DuPage state's attorney, he
called drug abuse "the most serious problem in DuPage County."

Now, in an effort to stem crimes caused by the use of illegal drugs, a
drug court, designed specifically for the habitual but non-violent
offender, will begin operations in January in the Wheaton courthouse.

"The incidence of drug use and the commission of drug-related crime in
DuPage County has increased dramatically," said DuPage Judge Ann
Jorgensen, presiding judge of the criminal division.

"The recidivism rate of these offenders is very high and has become
unacceptable," said Jorgensen, who spearheaded a yearlong study to
develop a local court designed to hear only drug cases.

Armed with agreements from prosecutors, public defenders, judges and
the police chiefs in the county, Jorgensen will preside over the drug
court, starting Jan. 10.

Drug courts are relatively new to the United States, and, over the
past 20 years, numerous types of specialized drug courts have been
tried throughout the country. Most of them now focus on drug abusers,
not the sellers or suppliers.

Jorgensen appeared last week before the DuPage County Police Chiefs
Association to explain the program and answer questions about the drug
court.

"This court is not designed to deal with any drug dealers and their
criminal charges," she said. "We do not want to diminish the effort to
take drug dealers off the street."

She said the target population considered for drug court would be
non-violent, non-sexual crimes: people charged with personal
possession and crimes such as theft, forgery and deceptive practices
that stem from drug use.

When criminal defendants first appear in regular bond court on any
type of charge, they will be assessed for possible entry into the drug
court program.

Jorgensen said a large part of the DuPage drug court's success would
be based on a system in which a person, in exchange for entering the
program, would agree to plead guilty to the crime and receive whatever
treatment is necessary for up to 12 months.

"But sentencing for that crime would be postponed until after the
treatment," Jorgensen said. "If they successfully complete the
program, they would receive probation and avoid jail or prison."

Among the factors for eligibility are that the defendant is deemed to
be an addict and that they waive privacy rights to allow drug testing
and other investigations to occur.

She said some drug offenders are now eligible for treatment programs
as part of their sentence, but only after they have been sentenced.

Drug court will be held every Tuesday in Jorgensen's Wheaton
courtroom, expanding to other days of the week as needed.

On Mondays, Jorgensen will meet with assistant state's attorneys and
public defenders assigned to drug court and go over each defendant.
Assistant State's Atty. Jennifer Hulvat and First Assistant Public
Defender William Padish already have been assigned to the drug court.

"We will all know about each person before they step up in court," she
said.

Once in the courtroom, Jorgensen said each defendant will have to
listen to every case on that day's call before anyone is excused. If
someone fails to continue with treatment or has a positive drug test,
which can be sought at any time or place, Jorgensen wants the others
to be aware of the consequences.

"The goal has to be to make this arrest the last time that the person
appears in the criminal justice system," she said.

Jorgensen acknowledged that the system won't be without
failures.

"But similar drug courts have shown a marked decrease in recidivism,"
she said. "Incarceration in a state prison costs the taxpayer about
$20,000 a year, and treatment is a fraction of that."

She also acknowledged that a person arrested for the first time for
minor possession probably won't be part of the program "because the
legislature has made the penalties for that type of charge a much
better deal than the program can offer."

Several police chiefs said their street officers were concerned about
the possibility of a drug defendant getting his or her criminal record
expunged if the program is successfully completed.

Jorgensen said that by the time a drug offense reaches drug court, the
charge is a felony, and she pledged not to expunge felony drug charges.