JUDGES PLAN FOR DUI/DRUG COURT PROGRAM

Proposal Draws Criticism From Anti-Drunken Driving Advocates

A new court program in Williamson County may offer people arrested for
misdemeanor drug and alcohol offenses a chance at rehabilitation and
redemption in the eyes of the law.

The program, called DWI/Drug Court, would require strict supervision,
treatment and weekly court visits in exchange for a chance to get
charges dropped if participants succeed, said Judge Tim Wright of
Williamson County Court-at-Law No. 2. If a participant doesn't adhere
to the regimen, he would go back to jail and face the original
charges, Wright said.

But the program raises questions among some advocates for tougher
drunken-driving penalties, who say that dropping charges would make it
harder to prosecute repeat offenders later.

But reducing the number of repeat offenders - the goal of the program
- - would pay off for both the county and the people involved, Wright
said. In similar programs across the state, he said, about two-thirds
of the participants do not commit additional drug or alcohol related
crimes.

It's about using the legal system to help people, not just punish
them, he said. "Jail and probation is necessary sometimes, but there
are cases where people just need help," Wright said.

To pay for the DWI/Drug Court, which would probably cost about
$135,000 to $140,000 per year, the county is applying for a $100,000
grant from the Governor's Criminal Justice Division, Wright said. The
remaining costs would be covered through participant fees, he said.

County commissioners approved the grant application last week. If the
grant comes through, the program would launch Sept. 1.

Probation officers would select DWI/Drug Court participants after
reviewing arrest records each morning. Wright estimates that the
program could accommodate about 60 people, 30 in each of the two
participating county Courts-at-Law.

Judge Don Higginbotham of county Court-at-Law No. 3 would also preside
over a DWI/ Drug Court.

The participants would be required to undergo individual and group
counseling, take weekly drug tests and come to court once a week for
as long as nine months, Wright said. If they fail any of the
requirements, they go straight back to jail and face their original
charges.

The misdemeanor charges, which vary according to the offense, have
punishments ranging from fines to probation to time in the county jail.

However, the proposal has upset some who say it lets offenders off too
easily.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving-Texas prefers that defendants be
required to plead guilty, or at least keep a charge on their record,
before they could participate in such a program, said Karen
Housewright, executive director of the group. "If they get arrested
again, there would be no record of the previous DWI," Housewright said
of the system Williamson County is proposing.

County Attorney Jana Duty said that she supports using the state grant
money to increase supervision and help people get treatment but that
she wasn't sure of all the details of the program.

Ultimately, it is Duty's office that would make the decision to drop
the charges against participants who had successfully completed the
DWI/Drug Court program.

Rick Zinsmeyer, director of adult probation for the county, voiced
support for the program, saying it would not only reduce recidivism
but had the potential to save money.

Although he understands some of the concerns, he said, the DWI/Drug
Court has the same goals as people who want to reduce drinking and
driving.

"We don't want repeat DWI offenders out there, either," Zinsmeyer
said. "This program should give them all the tools that they need to
not drink and drive."