DRUG COURT PROGRAM EXPANSION PLANNED

Course offers 'carrot' of reduced charges. Knox County officials want to
stop drug addiction at the courtroom door.

Today, Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner and
Sessions Court Judge Tony W. Stansberry will announce an expansion of
the drug court program over which they preside.

Until now, drug court was offered only for offenders who had been
convicted, sentenced and placed on probation. With the expansion, drug
court - and the rehabilitation opportunities it offers - will be
available to accused offenders before their cases begin what can be a
several-years-long crawl through the court system, Baumgartner said
Wednesday.

"We're going to identify people immediately after arrest who we think
are appropriate candidates for this program," the judge said.

Drug court is a treatment-based program limited to nonviolent
offenders. Through the program, which can last from 15 to 24 months,
offenders must participate in rehabilitation programs and meet weekly
in court with various participants, including state and local
probation officers and drug court employees.

They must work, undergo drug screens, pay various fees and fines and
abide by the law. If they violate the rules of the program, they can
be jailed.

Currently, some 55 people are enrolled in the program, Baumgartner
said. With the expansion, the program expects to nearly double that
figure, he said.

Drug court is funded primarily through grants, although Knox County
kicks in less than $30,000 toward the program's budget.

Baumgartner said the expansion of the program resulted in part because
of a grant that funded the hiring of a person who will screen
arrestees to determine who among them would be a likely candidate.

But the key cause for the expansion, the judge said, was the
willingness of Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols and
Public Defender Mark Stephens to agree to dangle what Baumgartner
called a "carrot" that would entice arrestees to sign up for the program.

That carrot is an offer of either reduced punishment or, in minor
cases, outright dismissal of charges if the arrestee successfully
completes drug court, the judge said.

Nichols will have control over who is allowed into the drug court
program.

"My office believes, based on what we have seen of the drug court,
that nonviolent offenders can find their way back into society through
this program," Nichols said in a release. "At the same time, we are
going to monitor every person who enters the drug court, and if in our
judgment that individual should be prosecuted, we will do so."

Stephens said drug court helps "people to make real, long lasting and
positive changes."

"We expect very positive results to come from this program," Stephens
said in a release.