The Drug Court as a Sentencing Model

Abstract

The sentencing model of the drug court puts a single judge into repeated contact with defendants under supervision. The drug court sentencing model, first, provides court monitoring and immediate, tangible punitive consequences for noncompliance with program requirements and, second, offers a strongly supportive group that provides a range of treatment options with which the defendant must be involved. Data in this article are from (a) a database developed on cases accepted or rejected by the drug court, (b) interviews with treatment providers, and (c) interviews with judges and administrators and attendance at court hearings and drug court graduation ceremonies. The article presents data on the conduct of the drug court judge and completion and attrition rates in the program, and it concludes that the activist judge role is the pivotal feature of the drug court.