Broward County's Dedicated Drug Treatment Court: From Postadjudication to Diversion (From Early Drug Courts: Case Studies in Judicial Innovation, P 77-107, 1999, W. Clinton Terry, III, ed. -- See NCJ-179569)

• NCJ Number: 179571
• Author(s): W. Clinton Terry III
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 31 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper describes and evaluates the dedicated drug treatment court in Broward County, Florida.

Abstract

Of the many agencies and people involved in planning and developing the Broward County, Florida, Drug Court, perhaps the most important was the State Attorney’s Office (SAO). Even though the SAO did not initiate the idea of the drug court, its statutory role in the prosecution of criminal cases placed the office in a position to shape the court’s organization and operation. It was the Office’s view that Broward County’s drug treatment court should be a post-adjudication court, and this view prevailed in the beginning. However, on October 1, 1993, following appellate court action and legislative changes, the Broward County Drug Court became a diversionary program under the auspices of Florida’s pretrial intervention provisions. Data from the first-year participants in the Broward County program suggest a positive difference in recidivism rates and substance abuse levels between program graduates and a comparison group who received no treatment. Tables, figure, notes, references