Drug Courts

The Drug Court Model

The primary goal of drug courts is to stop substance abuse and related social problems. Additionally, they are focused on rehabilitating drug offenders socially and reducing criminal justice costs. These goals are the foundation for the model that has developed, representing a paradigm shift away from the punitive focus of traditional courts.

This shift was inspired by the many failures of the existing criminal justice system in dealing with drug offenses. During the escalation of the War on Drugs in the 1980s, a high proportion of criminal cases became nonviolent, drug-related offenses, which the existing system responded to with mass incarceration. Those prison terms were followed by relapses into abuse and rearrest for the many drug offenders, and treatment programs alone were seen as an insufficient solution because of their lack of coercive force and limited availability. Therefore, by the end of the 1980s, social scientists, some criminal justice system officials, and activists were calling for changes to a broken and costly system.

In that context, drug courts first developed as a practical solution, aimed at balancing individual, community, and fiduciary goals; helping drug abusers while holding them accountable. Principles from three emerging criminal justice paradigms were adopted in those first courts: therapeutic jurisprudence, which considers the therapeutic impacts of the legal process; re-integrative shaming, aimed at reintegration through social ceremonies discouraging illegal behavior without labeling the actor as evil; and restorative justice, which focuses on repairing harm and rebuilding social relationships.

Applying these perspectives, the early drug courts model emerged as client-and rehabilitation-focused, aimed primarily at helping to improve the lives of substance abusers. In that model, drug abuse is treated as medical problem, treatment is seen as the only solution, and success is measured on human terms. Rehabilitation is treated as a social process, and successful reintegration is encouraged via a [Page 209]cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention model that teaches coping and recognizes the social pressures that discourage sobriety. Both progress and setbacks are expected, so noncompliance is responded to with assistance and graduated sanctions, not prosecution.

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