HENRICO CREATES FIRST DRUG COURT

Judge Hopes Sentence Options Will Expand

Henrico Circuit Judge Catherine Hammond watches a sad and seemingly endless
cycle of failure play out in front of her every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The courtroom is packed," Hammond said.

More often than not, most of the resigned faces before her are waiting
their turn to "show cause" or explain to her why she shouldn't send them to
jail or prison.

The faces belong to drug abusers trapped in a wheel; already convicted for
drug use or stealing to get drugs, they have violated their parole
conditions by testing positive for drug use.

"It is a rare case that doesn't involve drugs," Hammond said, airing her
lament in a presentation to the Henrico Board of Supervisors last Tuesday.
"And it's rare that the sentence you impose will have the impact that you
want - and that is to [force the parole violator] to quit committing crimes."

In the rigid setting of her courtroom, Hammond said her current tools to
deal with these offenders - whose worst offense is often against themselves
- - are limited. She can send the defendant to jail, continue his case, "or
do nothing."

Hammond and her fellow Henrico judges, along with the attorneys and social
workers who argue weekly for or against these souls, came to the Board of
Supervisors asking to expand the tools available. The board agreed, voting
to accept a $450,000 federal grant to establish the county's first drug court.

Plans are in place to have the court up and running by Oct. 1. Hammond, who
will likely hear most of the cases, expects the program will deal with
approximately 200 people during the first two years of the program.

The board supports the drug court even though the grant to pay for it lasts
just two years, after which the county will have to find a way to foot the
bill. State officials recently announced that they would trim back and
eventually end funding of courts in other Virginia localities.

Drug court is not a new idea either locally or nationally. Richmond and
Chesterfield have them, and Charlottesville and Roanoke have two of the
older programs in the state.

The courts offer an almost therapeutic alternative to the normal courtroom
environment.

Individuals are recommended to the program by the judge. Once accepted,
they voluntarily report to court weekly, rather than waiting until they
have violated their parole. They waive many of their rights relating to
searches.

In anticipation of their weekly court visit, the judge meets with the
commonwealth's attorney and with caseworkers to discuss that defendant's
progress in the program.

If he or she has violated parole by testing positive for drugs, the judge
has far more latitude to decide how to deal with the situation.

"I can assign punishments that could be anything from weekend jail to
writing an essay," Hammond said of the program Henrico plans to implement.

Henrico Sheriff Mike Wade, who has instituted a number of programs aimed at
reforming drug and alcohol addicts, applauded the board's decision to
accept the grant.

"This gives people an opportunity to work through their problems," he said.

And rather than leaving authorities to wait until a parolee has messed up
before help can be given to try to end an addiction, Wade said, this
program takes a proactive approach.

"It gives them more resources on the outside," he said.

Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Wade Kizer agreed and also touted the
program's potential financial benefits.

"You're saving the cost of the prison bed for however long they're there,"
he said. "It's a substantial and significant savings to the community."

Hammond pointed to even greater savings than just the cost of a prison bed.
This most common of criminals that comes before her often fits a
predictable profile:

"He is still working, he is paying his child support, he is paying his
taxes, but he is using drugs," she said. Jail hurts his child, it often
gets him fired from his job and it leaves him dependent on the county
rather than the county benefiting from his tax payments.

Although money for the future to support the program is uncertain, the cost
in the short term is minimal, Hammond said.

During the first year, the county is required to match the grant with
approximately $48,000 to pay for a program coordinator and the lease of a car.

In the second year, that cost could increase to as much as $218,000, said
Henrico County Manager Virgil Hazelett. But that increase is likely to be
far less, and if the increase is that steep, the program can be cut back.
Plans already are in place to charge participants a fee to participate.

"Drug court is needed and it can provide a tremendous amount of benefit to
the community," Hazelett said. "It is so important to the judicial system."

And it's so important to the help drug addicts to end what is otherwise so
often an unending downward spiral, Hammond said. "Their reward is to have a
healthy life - to be a member of the local community."