Best Practices For Drug Court: How Drug Court Judges Influence Positive Outcomes

Abstract

Drug courts are an important component in the criminal justice system directed toward efforts of rehabilitation of drug and alcohol addiction that lessens the rate of recidivism. Drug court is the alternative to incarceration and traditional addiction treatment. Drug court has been characterized as therapeutic adjudication. Using "Best Practices," drug courts staffed by a judge, court team, and community partners individualize treatment protocols to motivate participant compliance and lessen the impact of the social milieu that impacts his or her recovery. Drug courts have been deemed successful in part due to the role of the judge. This research sought to compare theoretical consideration of bureaucratic authority and the ethic of care to the actions of the judge that produced narratives of positive praise of drug court participants' success in their program. Literature on adult drug courts in the United States found that recidivism rates were reduced when the drug court participant's length of stay in the program was at least one year and they stayed engaged in the program with the help of the judge.