JUDGE WANTS TOUGH DRUG COURT SIMILAR TO US

A judge has called for the introduction of American-style drug courts
in the Territory.

Territory Supreme Court Justice Dean Mildren said he was impressed
with the drug court system he observed on a recent trip to Washington
DC - a city with one of the worst drug problems in the US.

He said the US system operated on four principles - there had to be a
plea of guilty, the offence had to be of a minor matter within the
jurisdiction of the drug court, the offender must not be a serious
recidivist and the offender must not be in breach of a suspended sentence.

Justice Mildren said the US model was markedly different - and
probably better - than the system recently introduced in the Territory.

``I assumed wrongly that the matters in the drug court (in the NT)
were only minor matters,'' he said.

``I am amazed that matters of the gravity of aggravated unlawful entry
carrying maximum penalties outside of the sentencing powers of the
Court of Summary Jurisdiction were being dealt with by the drug court.

``I am not against the drug court but in my opinion serious matters
cannot be dealt with in this way.''

The judge said he sat in on the Washington DC drug court
proceedings.

``The way it operated there was that the defendants came in on a
regular basis each month,'' he said.

``The judge had before her - it was a lady judge - a summary of what
the case was all about and she knew each case individually and she got
a report from the prosecutor and also from the defendant as to what
was happening.

``If the matter was proceeding appropriately then the matter continued
in that jurisdiction. If the matter was not proceeding appropriately,
then the matter would be transferred to another court for sentence.

``I commend that system to the NT because it is obvious that it is an
appropriate way of dealing with drug matters.''

Justice Mildren made his comments while sentencing an 18-year-old with
drug problems to 12 years' jail for more than 40 criminal charges.