July 21, 2004
July 21, 2004
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today signed into law a bipartisan legislative package that will expand the use of "drug courts" as an alternative to traditional prison terms for non-violent offenders. Drug courts are authorized to order participation in a drug treatment court as a condition of deferred sentencing or probation.
The package also authorizes circuit and district courts to adopt drug treatment courts, and family courts to adopt juvenile drug treatment courts.
"Drug courts offer hope in breaking the cycle of drugs and crime," Granholm said. "These courts offer a proven alternative to handling offenders whose use of alcohol and drugs are a primary cause of their criminal behavior, and I applaud my legislative partners for offering a new approach in addressing drug crimes and non-violent offenders."
Granholm made special note of Rep. Andy Meisner’s advocacy on this issue and the work of the House and Senate committees chairs, Sen. Alan Cropsey and Rep. Jim Howell, in moving the package through the legislative process.
"Andy Meisner provided important leadership on this isue, which signals a new beginning in how we address the issues surrounding non-violent offenders," Granholm said.
Expanding the use of drug courts has been a priority of the Granholm Administration as a way to save lives and save taxpayers’ money by putting offenders in court-ordered and court-supervised rehabilitation programs where they are subjected to mandatory drug testing and held accountable for their actions rather than incarcerating them in jails and prison.
Drug courts are a new approach that is being used by criminal court systems to deal with nonviolent offenders who are convicted of crimes related to drug abuse or alcohol addictions. The purpose of a drug treatment court is to provide an alternative intervention to a jail sentence consisting of a regimen of drug therapy and substance abuse rehabilitation that will break the offender’s dependency on drugs.
First to appear in West Michigan, there are approximately 36 drug court programs in 16 Michigan counties with another 27 programs reported to be in the planning stages. Due to the number of drug courts emerging, and in an effort to ensure consistency in their operation, the legislation defines the definition of a drug court and outlines the corresponding standards.
The package includes Senate Bills 998, 999 and 1000, and House Bills 5674, 5647, 5716, 5928, and 5932.
