Lee County considering drug court proposal

By: Amy Weaver Staff Writer | Opelika Auburn News
Published: January 05, 2009

If Lee County had a drug court, drug possession offenders could get clean and avoid serving a jail sentence at the same time, according to supporters for such a program.
Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III is one of several local and statewide advocates for establishing a drug court in every Alabama county. Walker talked to the Lee County Commission and legislative delegation Dec. 16 about starting a local program in 2009.
Walker is hopeful that when the legislature reconvenes Feb. 3, they will grant Lee County the authority to create a drug court bill and collect related fees. He said the matter does not require a public vote by referendum.
According to Walker, the basics of drug court are this: A drug possession offender — not a dealer — pleads guilty and volunteers for drug court. If they are accepted into the program by a panel, their plea is set aside. They then follow certain conditions, such as counseling, drug testing and working at a job or on the GED for a year. Upon successful completion, the plea is removed from their record.
County Administrator Roger Rendleman said Lee County’s draft proposal was modeled after programs in Mobile and Shelby counties.
According to its Web site, Shelby County states that the purpose of its drug court is “to keep qualified applicants as contributing members of society rather than requiring society to incur the costs of jailing or imprisoning these applicants.”
Walker and Rendleman said Lee County’s program will work with the same goal.
“We are trying to keep them out of jail,” Walker said. “We are trying to get people’s lives turned around.”
If the offender does not complete the program, however, Walker said the guilty plea goes into effect and the case moves forward in court. Once in jail, he said a similar program exists in the Lee County Detention Facility to help clean up drug offenders.
“The goal is not only to get them help, but the societal goal of reducing the crime rate,” Walker said. “We’ve got to step in and break the cycle.”