How Do Courts Process Drug Cases?

Courts are in a period of transition in regard to processing drug cases. Courts across the country work to balance the legislative demands of the "War on Drugs" with the need to provide treatment to people addicted to illegal substances.

History

Beginning in the 1980s, Congress and state legislatures enacted legislation imposing significant penalties---including long jail or prison terms---on people selling and using illegal drugs.

Effects

The effects of the "War on Drugs" included the development of a court process in which judges lacked discretion in sentencing and imposed mandatory terms of imprisonment on defendants in drug cases.

Misconceptions

The most prevalent misconception associated with the court processes attached to the War on Drugs is that illicit drug users are criminals first and addicts second.

Considerations

Beginning in the late 1980s, but only gaining steam since the turn of the century, mandatory sentences in drug cases are being abandoned and the court process now favors judicial discretion and dealing with addiction issues.

Drug Courts

The fundamental shift is the creation of a new judicial process known as drug courts. Drug courts allow a judge latitude to defer criminal punishment provided that the defendant obtains meaningful substance-abuse treatment.

References

• Office of National Drug Policy, Drug Courts
• Drug Courts: A New Approach to Treatment and Rehabilitation, James E. Lessenger & Glade F. Roper, 2007
• Reinventing Justice: The American Drug Court Movement, James L. Nolan, 2003

Resources

• White House Office of National Drug Policy