Graduating From Court to a New Life
Program Offers Intensive Treatment Alternative to Jail for Drug Offenders

By Mary Otto
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 31, 2007; HO03

Parents, friends and neighbors sat beaming in the audience as the name of each proud graduate was called.

There were inspiring speeches, hugs and gifts. But in a season of commencements, this was no ordinary one.

This was Courtroom No. 5 in the District Court of Maryland for Howard County, and last week's ceremony recognized the nine most recent graduates of an innovative program, a special court that offers an alternative to jail for people facing drug- and alcohol-related charges.

The court helps offenders break the destructive cycle of addiction and crime. Each of the smiling honorees was celebrating 15 months or more of sustained sobriety.

"Each of these individuals has not only reached a milestone in their recovery, but in their lives," District Court Judge Neil Edward Axel said.

The court, one of only three combined drug and DUI courts in Maryland, is part of a growing national trend toward "problem-solving courts" set up to provide help to nonviolent offenders. Howard's program, which has been operating for about two years, offers qualifying participants a choice: jail or an intensive course of counseling, treatment and monitoring.

"I chose this," graduate Whitney Jackson, 21, said quietly.

She started drinking beer as a young teen to "fit in." She progressed to liquor and drugs as she struggled to finish high school. More than a year ago, drunken driving and probation violations landed her in Axel's courtroom.

She saw other participants feeling better about themselves and professionals standing ready to take her case. She decided this court might be the way to leave her past behind.

"I wanted to get out of that mess," said Jackson, a Laurel grocery store worker. "I wanted to get better. I needed help and support."

She found it in the Howard program.

Her mother, Lynnie Jackson, came to celebrate her graduation and to express her gratitude to the judge.

"I thanked him for believing in her," she said.

The court requires the cooperation of a variety of county agencies, including the police and health departments, the state's attorney's office and the public defender's office. Before each regular court session, a team -- including the judge, lawyers, addiction experts and case managers -- meets to review each case.

"With our backgrounds, we are all bringing something," explained court coordinator Bobbie Fine, a lawyer and former teacher. "Each participant gets a fair shake."

Relapse can often be part of recovery, Fine said, and if a participant falters, he or she is often given a stepped-up regimen of treatment and monitoring. The Wednesday court hearings are filled with encouragement, small gifts, hugs and applause. Lasting friendships are formed, with former graduates returning for special gatherings, such as last week's graduation.

Howard's drug court started in late 2004, with the DUI component added in June 2005. So far, 27 people, or a third of the participants, have successfully graduated. The rest, who dropped out or relapsed repeatedly, faced sentencing for the crime that originally brought them to the court.

But even those who fail may have taken a big step toward future sobriety, advocates of the program say. The county's new health officer, Peter L. Beilenson, spoke during the graduation, saying he had been impressed by Baltimore's drug court program, which he worked with as the city's health commissioner.

"Eighty percent of incarcerees statewide have a substance abuse problem," Beilenson said. "Do they get treatment in prison? Not much."

The cost of a year of prison is $25,000, he said.

This court gives people a second chance for less than half that price, Fine said.

Asked Beilenson: "Doesn't it make sense to do something like this?"