JUDGE TO START 'DRUG COURT' PROGRAM

With funding from a state grant, Marietta Municipal Court Judge Milt Nuzum
hopes to start a program using the ''drug court'' concept by the end of
February.

In 2002, Nuzum applied for funding to create a drug court program in
Marietta. On Wednesday, Nuzum said he received notification that a Byrne
Memorial Grant from the state has been approved to start the program in
Marietta. Nuzum made the announcement during a press conference attended by
Lucille Fleming, director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol Drug Addiction
Services; state Rep. Nancy Hollister, R-Marietta; Marietta Mayor Joe
Matthews and Sheriff Robert Schlicher. All expressed support for the drug
court program in Marietta.

Marietta will receive about $130,000 and that will be matched with $45,000
approved by the city last fall. The money will be used to implement the drug
court program. Nuzum said he has hired Aimee Meadows as the drug court
coordinator. She will hire someone and the two will work as case managers in
the program.

Courts that deal with drug and alcohol offenders have emerged as an
alternative to traditional courts, Nuzum said. The drug court model is
designed to address the needs of drug-involved offenders through frequent
judicial monitoring and community-based treatment services.

Although participants don't face jail time unless they fail the drug court
program, Nuzum said it is not soft on crime.

''Drug courts are a way to hold offenders personally accountable while
recognizing that they have a problem best addressed by treatment with
judicial oversight. The goal of drug courts is to reduce recidivism (repeat
offenses), thereby making communities safer, through a holistic approach to
treatment. The court recognizes that drug problems do not exist in a vacuum,
therefore drug problems cannot be treated in a vacuum,'' he said.

Under the current process in municipal court, people who are convicted of an
offense carrying potential jail time and having a drug problem are often
placed on probation and referred to public or private treatment programs,
Nuzum said. If they comply with the requirements of treatment for six
months, they are usually taken off probation. If they don't comply, they are
sent to jail.

''The problem with that is that we don't have a lot of support services to
go along with it,'' Nuzum said. ''In other words, they are expected to - on
their own initiative with a little impetus from the court - get to that
treatment provider and abide by their rules and regulations. We're happy to
report that much of that occurs successfully, but much of it doesn't,'' he
said.

The drug court program is open to only non-violent offenders and isn't
restricted to cases of drug possession or abuse. If someone stole property
to help support an addiction, he could be eligible for the program. Nuzum
estimated the two case workers planned for the beginning of the program
should be able to handle 12 to 20 clients at a time.

Under the drug court, clients will give up certain rights, Nuzum said. They
will not have a trial and will plead guilty to the charge against them.
However, instead of being sentenced to jail, they will be ordered into the
drug court program.

The drug court staff will help clients get to their counseling appointments
and help in other ways, which are still being finalized, Nuzum said.
Transportation assistance, occupational training and education have been
mentioned.

Nuzum said he might offer other incentives to the clients to successfully
complete the program. One might be to dismiss a charge and remove it from a
person's record following completion of treatment.

Nuzum said there are 1,000 people on probation through the Marietta court
system on average, based on reports from the city's probation department.

''One of the reports I read indicated that 50 percent of the people I have
on probation report drugs or alcohol as the underlying problem,'' he said.

The grant for the drug court program will put $75,000 into the community for
addiction services. Ron Rees, executive director of the Washington County
Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Board, said that will be helpful
because addiction services have been severely hit by recent budget cuts.

''There is a tremendous success rate where they have implemented drug
courts. People who are primarily addicts and not primarily criminals find
themselves involved in criminal activities because of their addiction. Once
that addiction is addressed, the criminal activity subsides and that is what
this is about,'' Rees said.