The main principle of the traditional criminal justice system is retribution. The state will seek a punishment for a citizen’s violation of the law, punishment that will serve as a rebuke to the crime and a deterrent to any others. But over the last few decades, the discourse on substance-related offences has moved towards a medical/psychological paradigm. Now the consensus is that addiction is not a moral failing, but a complicated behavior and health condition. To meet this change, the law has established dedicated accountability programs. However, when examining these programs, one faces a fundamental question: what is the meaning of life? Are these specialty courts truly about rehabilitation or just a more arduous and heavily monitored punishment?
This is a moral dilemma that is most evident in the Fulton County DUI Court program. The accountability court, created for people with several crimes, is an alternative to regular jail time. The mission is very therapeutic with intense supervision, group counseling and compulsory treatment to break the vicious circle of addiction. Participants agree to enter a very structured world that is governed by a multidisciplinary team comprised of a judge, prosecutors, probation officers and substance abuse professionals. In theory it’s a progressive and humane solution to crime, trying to repair the root of the problem, instead of just putting a man in a cell.
But, when it comes to the day to day grind of being a part of the Fulton County DUI Court, we wonder just what this “rehabilitation” actually entails. A massive loss of individual autonomy and privacy must be given up to enter the program. The participants undergo a heavy course of court appearances, group therapy, twelve-step meetings, and, of course, completely random and unannounced chemical screening once a week. These treatments and tests cost the participant and can place a substantial economic hardship on them, especially when they are already facing economic consequences from an arrest.
On the philosophical level, we wonder whether a genuine “rehabilitation” can be achieved when a constant and overwhelming fear of imminent incarceration prevails. The Fulton County program is a “no failure” program. Not showing up for an appointment isn’t a clinical failure in the difficult road of recovery, nor is it a failure to show up because of the traffic in Atlanta, and nor is it a failure to show up because the urine was diluted. Rather, it is considered a legal offense, and may be met with immediate penalties such as days or weeks in the county jail. The distinction between medical treatment and punitive control is impossible to keep straight if the treatment is imposed by the coercive power of the police or prison. It proposes a framework that continues to fundamentally equate addiction as a choice of behaviour that can be overcome by the virtue of judicial intimidation.
With the consequences of a DUI being extremely severe, and no room for error, no one should ever enter an accountability court without the help of an experienced Atlanta DUI Lawyer. For some, it’s a place of change and revitalization, and the structure of a treatment court can actually save lives and give them tools to help them stay sober. For some it is a management ploy designed to ensure an extended stay in prison. The distinction is a matter of intense objectivity, serious honesty, and a careful examination of the defendant’s personal history, psychological state and the quality of the State’s evidence.
James Yeargan’s perspective is critical when considering this complex decision. He also carries first-hand knowledge of the consequences of repeat DUI drivers, as well as the inside workings of the accountability court system, being a former DUI prosecutor. He has seen a program created to assist become a punitive nightmare for a participant who has trouble keeping up with court’s rigid bureaucratic requirements. His experience tells him that it is never the default approach to take to be found guilty and to enter a treatment program. First, however, all the evidence from the original traffic stop to the giving of chemical tests must be attacked.
An effective Atlanta DUI Lawyer realizes that safeguarding the future of his client is a better approach than taking the easy path of being held under the thumb of an accountability court by allowing his client to have all of his potential legal defenses ignored. In some cases, it is not a prolonged period of therapy ordered by a court, but a criminal dismissal because of unconstitutional policing, or bad chemical analysis. If a conviction is ultimately inevitable, legal counsel should work out terms that will give them a fighting chance, not a complicated route back to jail.
Finally, there is a need for society to keep asking questions about the philosophy of its specialized courts. In order to achieve a true rehabilitation, the system must realize that addiction recovery is a non-linear process with setbacks. Without a law that reflects the truths of life and the human struggle, programs such as the Fulton County DUI Court are a philosophical contradiction, promising healing but delivering the severe, harsh blade of traditional punishment.
