SARATOGA COUNTY TO OFFER DRUG COURT

All Counties Have Been Ordered To Start Treatment Program By State's Chief
Judge

BALLSTON SPA - Saratoga County will offer a new drug court treatment
program to some criminal defendants starting this winter, Saratoga County
District Attorney James A. Murphy III said Wednesday.

Saratoga is the last of the large Capital Region counties to adopt the
program, which the state's chief judge has ordered all counties to start
because of its effectiveness in reducing repeat criminal behavior.

"I've been very slow in embracing the drug court, because some of the cases
are not plea-based," Murphy said. "I felt very strongly there needs to be
some sort of plea."

Fourth District Chief Administrative Judge Jan Plumadore has agreed to
Murphy's request that people enter the program only after pleading guilty
to a crime, addressing Murphy's concerns and clearing the way for the
program to start.

Drug court programs are designed to get people who commit crimes because of
drug or alcohol addiction into treatment programs, instead of sending them
to jail. Those in the program are closely supervised, and meet weekly with
a judge.

Schenectady, Albany, and Rensselaer counties already have the program, and
reportedly consider it successful.

Statewide, according to the state Office of Court Administration, 72
percent of people enrolled stay with their treatment programs for at least
a year.

In a report to the county's Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, Murphy
said he and the three countywide judges recently attended training, and he
expected the program to be up and running sometime between January and March.

"I think it's something that in the long run will result in offenders being
rehabilitated," he said.

The district attorney's office will screen out anybody accused of a violent
crime, a sex crime, of dealing drugs, or arrested for drunk driving, Murphy
said. The program would typically be for someone accused of criminal
mischief, theft, forgery, or other crimes that can stem from drug use.

"It's really a very narrow group of candidates," Murphy said.

People who don't stay with the treatment program can be sent to jail or
prison, Murphy said.

Initially, the program will be only for people accused of felonies, and
will be administered by the county court judge and two family court judges.
Later, it will be extended to misdemeanor defendants, Murphy said.

There isn't supposed to be any additional cost to the county.