As the use of heroin surges, many people arrested for drug-related crimes are ending up in drug court, one of the so-called "problem solving courts" that have been started in recent years.
Every Thursday afternoon in the Oneida County Courthouse, the Judge John Balzano seems to be equal parts judge, guidance counselor and the leader of a support group.
This is drug court. Balzano dispenses justice here with an emphasis on rehabilitation.
"It's a program that hopefully brings people back into the community and not repeat crimes when they complete the program," Blazano said.
On this day, about 40 people wait their turn before the judge. They were all addicts arrested for non-violent crimes. If a team that includes a district attorney and public defender, case managers and Judge Balzano think they’re good candidates for drug court, they’ll offer them a deal.
"You also understand there will be random drug screens here at court or at home," Balzano says to one person in his court.
Instead of doing time, they agree to a number of supervised conditions: they have to enter treatment and be clean for a year, come to court nearly every week, have a job or be in school and have a safe place to live. The court can tell them to avoid certain people. They have to be off public assistance and complete 60 hours of community service.
And if they don’t do all those things?
"There will be a jail sentence or state prison sentence and there's no renegotiating of any kind," Balzano said. "That is the deal from day one."
And since many would otherwise get right out of jail and commit the same kind of crimes, the program saves money, says Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara.
"Many of these people, they're good for 10-20 convictions," McNamara said. "That's a lot of time, a lot of victims, it's a lot of police time, it's a lot of lawyering time."
Participants say they start the program simply to stay out of jail. That was the case for this young woman, arrested for burglary to support her addiction to heroin and crack cocaine.
"I did not want this opportunity because I did not want to stop," she said.
Finally, after two years of trying to beat the system, and six months behind bars, she decided to change her behavior. Now she has a job and is on track to "graduate" from drug court.
"I lost myself somewhere in the mix and had to find myself again, which was the hardest and scariest part," she explained. "It's tough love, they're here to help you and you got to stick it out."
Numerous studies indicate the courts significantly reduce crime and drug use.
Drug courts are now in every county in the state. About half the participants in adult drug court finish the program, although the number varies widely from court to court, often depending on the skill of the judge.
William Virkler is a sitting town justice and professor of criminal justice at Utica College. He says the pendulum is swinging away from mandated sentences to more discriminating ones.
"I think the measure of a good justice is to take a fact pattern and be harsh when it's time to be harsh, and be lenient when it's time to be lenient," Virkler said. "And perhaps defer to other courts like drug court, mental health court to see if that system might fix the problem."
Federal judges are now beginning to create programs modeled on the state drug courts that allow for similar alternatives to incarceration for low level drug crimes.
Dave Chanatry reported this story as part of the New York Reporting Project at Utica College. You can read more of the project's storiesat their website, nyrp-uc.org.
