Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Going to court with a smile

Program helps drug addicts rehabilitate their lives


By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Fifth District Court Judge Robert J. Elgee chats informally with Blaine County Drug Court participant Brenda Fisher, a former drug addict who has been in the program for 16 months and claims drug court saved her life. Fisher is one of 13 participants in the program, designed to keep drug users out of prison and help them rehabilitate their lives. In the foreground is Court Bailiff Doug Wynn, the law enforcement representative on the drug court team.

Brenda Fisher says she'd be dead right now if it weren't for drug court.

"I feel high on life—I never thought I could feel this good without drugs or alcohol," she said.

Fisher, a 47-year-old Hailey woman, is a former drug addict and one of the original participants in Blaine County Drug Court. The court has been in operation for 16 months.

In just two months, she'll graduate from the program, which is designed to keep drug addicts out of jail or prison, and help them rehabilitate their lives. She is looking like a success story, one of many claimed by drug courts throughout Idaho.

"I would be dead if I hadn't got into drug court," Fisher told the Idaho Mountain Express.

Fisher is one of 13 participants in the Blaine County program.

According to the Idaho State Judiciary, 290 people graduated from felony drug courts in Idaho in 2007. Of those, 59 got into trouble with the law again, for a recidivism rate of 19 percent. That compared with a recidivism rate of 37.3 percent for felony drug offenders not involved in drug courts.

Drug court participants are required to test weekly for drugs. So far only one person has been dropped from the Blaine County program.

"We've had some other close calls, but we've stayed with them," said Blaine County 5th District Court Judge Robert J. Elgee.

The road to drug court

Drug court participants enter the system after they've been arrested for a felony drug offense and plead guilty. A drug court team reviews applications and chooses participants who seem capable of rehabilitation and who have not been involved in crimes of violence or large-scale drug dealing.

Drug court is not an easy path. In addition to weekly drug tests, participants are required to attended up to 20 hours a week of counseling, attend weekly court hearings and be employed or seeking employment.

If participants successfully complete the program, their convictions are removed from their records. If they fail, they can be sentenced to either jail or prison.

After 24 years as a drug addict, Fisher said she got into drug court after she was busted for illegal possession of prescription drugs. She's now been drug free for 16 months.

"It's not hard now, but drug court is probably one of the hardest things I've had to do in my life," she said. "And I didn't think I'd make it. But now, I don't have to lie today, I don't have to manipulate today, I don't have to steal for my drugs."

Fisher didn't think she had bad behaviors until she started changing them. Living without the drugs and alcohol, she said, has given her freedom. She credits her newfound freedom to the county's drug court team, who she says worked with her to change her life for the better.

"When I look into the eyes of the drug court team members, I can see that they really want me to make it," she said.

The team was assembled nearly two years ago when the county's drug court was being organized. In addition to Elgee, members of the team are Magistrate Court Judge Mark Ingram, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Fredback, public defender Kevin Cassidy, Probation Officers Jody Fuller and Ellery Summer, court Bailiff Doug Wynn, Chief Court Clerk Andrea Logan and Elgee's law clerk, Will Fletcher.

Also on the team are private attorney Amanda Breen, drug and mental health counselors Tyler Lohrke, Nancy Kneeland and Greg Greenfield, and Ben Krumpe with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Day in Court

Participants are initially required to appear once a week in 5th District Court for a review of their progress. As they move through the program, the court appearance requirement gets reduced.

< Drug court takes place each Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. Though the appearance is technically a hearing, it is much less formal than the average day in court.

Participants stand in front of the judge and chat casually, rather than being seated at the defendant's table. They talk directly to the judge, instead of communicating through an attorney.

"We haven't met—Bob Elgee—how are you?" the judge greets a new program participant. He questions the man about his past drug use and concludes, "You name it, you did it all."

Elgee finds out the man had his driver's license taken away and offers him advice about commuter bus service in the Wood River Valley. The judge finds out that the man is living with his parents and seeking employment.

"I'll leave it up to you whether you explain to your prospective employer whether you are in drug court," Elgee tells the man. "Some of them might not like it, but others might say 'You're in drug court so we don't need to test you. That's great.'"

Other participants are well known by Elgee and he greets them as friends rather than as a presiding judge.

"Are you finding life more difficult staying clean and sober?" Elgee asks a woman. "I know it's hard, but keep up the good work."

Elgee tells another participant, "You're doing great, you're doing your treatment, you're getting your drug tests done. Keep up the good work."

Staying clean

The upbeat tone is deliberate. Elgee said that such positive reinforcement works better for people trying to get through the drug court system.

But is the program working? Elgee said he had its doubts when the program first began. Since then, he said, he has changed his mind and has become a believer in the program.

"It's one of the most satisfying things I've ever seen as a judge," Elgee said. "Over the course of several months, you can just watch people change. And that's very positive."




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.