BROWARD DRUG COURT GIVES OFFENDERS A CHANCE TO HAVE RECORDS WIPED CLEAN

There was a time when getting caught with a marijuana cigarette or
something a little stronger could have hurt your chances of getting a
mortgage, driving a car or going to college.

Today, if the charge doesn't involve violence or selling, you can get
a second chance -- at least in Broward County, which 15 years ago
began offering felony Drug Court as a way to a new start. Figures
show 85 percent of graduates stay arrest-free for at least two years.
By comparison, 85 percent of those on probation are rearrested within a year.

Legislators in Tallahassee are debating several bills that would
build on Broward's success throughout the state.

One set of bills would let drug courts handle custody cases involving
a drug-using parent. The bills (HB 175, SB 444, 114) would let judges
order parents to drug court for treatment.

"The goal is to help get the family back on track by ensuring the
child's safety, helping the [drug abuser] get clean and unifying the
broken family," said state Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, one of
the sponsors.

Another bill (HB 709, SB 940) would let counties add $6 surcharges to
drug-related fines to help encourage counties to create their own
drug courts, said Porth, a sponsor of that legislation, too.

Broward doesn't budget money for drug court. It uses existing county
and state personnel who rely on nonprofit counselors and resources to
provide education, counseling and testing, administrators say. Those
in its programs also pay for the services they receive.

Another bill would let people with drug records work at Florida's
ports (SB 190, HB 7145). "Now, you have to wait seven years after
final disposition of a drug case to be employed at a Florida seaport,
and I think that's a bit harsh. It punishes a person an additional
seven years after they complete their sentence," said Broward Vice
Mayor Josephus Eggelletion Jr.

Those in drug court have an incentive. Their charges will be dropped,
records sealed or histories expunged from police files. If expunged,
the persons can say they were never arrested. It means they avoid
losing their driver's license, which is mandatory for even a
misdemeanor marijuana conviction.

In March, six months after the creation of the first misdemeanor
marijuana court in the country, 25 people between the ages of 18 and
68 graduated. Judge Gisele Pollack dismissed their charges and gave
each of them a $25 gift certificate and a hug.

Eggelletion warned graduates that even in Broward they won't get a
third chance.

"I've made mistakes, but thank God for people who believed in giving
second chances," he said. "What I'm saying to you is don't blow it."