MADCP Annual Conference - Due Process

The morning session on Thursday dealt with ethics for attorneys and judges. The speaker covered confidentiality of treatment and court records as well as due process rights of participants. In the afternoon. I met with other defense attorneys from different teams to discuss our participation in drug and DWI courts. Almost all were private attorneys donating their time to the court.

The due process discussion raised some concerns in my mind. As a defense attorney team member on a problem-solving court, I do not represent individual participants in the program. As I see my role, it is more of general advice to the team as well as commenting on appropriate rewards and sanctions. Although i may make suggestions as to an appropriate resolution on a participant's case, it does not rise to representing them. However, based on the speaker's presentation, participants should at least have the opportunity to consult with an attorney prior to being sanctioned for behavior.

One solution is to mandate the continued participation of the participants' original attorney through at least the initial phase of treatment court. Another solution would be to have a public defender assigned to represent participants. At least one county had a paid defense attorney to handle routine issues in court. There certainly needs to be greater participation by defense attorneys in this very important and successful aspect of the criminal justice system.

MADCP Annual Conference - Day 1

The first day of the 14th Annual Missouri Association of Drug Court Professionals is over. Highlights of my day were being elected to the state board as well as spending time with the Christian County drug court team.

In the afternoon, I attended a three hour session on Truthought.com, a cognitive behavioral model to help drug court clients make better decisions by identifying thinking barriers and developing responsible thinking steps.

14th Annual Conference - MADCP

I am attending the 14th Annual Conference of the Missouri Association of Drug Court Professionals. This is my third straight annual conference, and each year I take away something which has helped me in my private law practice.

A primary goal of the conference is to share evidence-based practices which dramatically improve the success of alternative treatment and problem-solving courts.

I have been the defense attorney on the Christian County drug court team for over three years and on the Greene County DWI Court team for one year. This seminar is one of my favorite times of the year.

A Very Fine Line

Because the primary focus of my law practice is securing the best possible outcome for my clients, I am always looking for mitigating factors to present to the Court. Many of these mitigating factors can be developed while the criminal case is pending. Such factors might include treatment, community service, writing letters of apologies (to be presented through proper channels) and putting together funds to pay restitution. Other mitigating factors come from a client’s history and could include past abuse, learning disabilities, mental or physical health problems.

Whatever the factor may be, it must be relevant as to why my client committed the crime or why the consequences should be lessened. What I always have to keep in mind is that there is a very fine line between giving reasons and making excuses. Of course early on in the process, I AM looking for excuses. The initial question must be “Is there enough evidence to prove my client’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt?” There may be factual problems with the prosecution’s case, legal problems, or both. Most of the time, these past factors do not provide a complete defense but are mitigating factors which, if used creatively, can lessen the consequences my client is facing. However, if I forget that fine line between mitigation and making excuses, I run the very real risk of alienating the judge.

No one likes excuses, and if a judge at sentencing thinks my client isn’t taking responsibility, the chances are the outcome won’t be good. If I am able to explain my client’s behavior while, at the same time, giving the Court reasons to believe my client is taking responsibility for his actions, there is a very good chance any negative impact on my client’s life will be minimized.

Where to Start ....

The truth is, starting something new has always been much more difficult for me than continuing something previously started. Finishing is a different matter altogether. The truth is, starting a blog has been something I have considered for a very long time. But where to start? What to say? After much procrastination, I guess there is nothing left to do but to start somewhere. That somewhere, for lack of anything more appropriate, will be about what I do and why I do it.

I am an attorney; I have been an attorney for over half of my life. I became an attorney based mostly on the gentle and constant persuasion of my family. After graduating law school, I served as an elected prosecuting attorney for four years. I began limiting my practice to criminal defense about fifteen years ago, and about six years ago I found myself focusing more and more on alternative sentencing and restorative justice.

What started with providing a few character reference letters and proof of treatment to the Court at sentencing developed into a quasi-private probation where my clients seek out mentoring relationships, engage in treatment, set written goals for the future, take responsibility for their actions, perform community service and equip themselves to succeed once their legal difficulties are resolved. A large part of my practice now involves putting together these alternative sentencing plans. And for those clients who give the effort, these sentencing plans have been able to secure some remarkable dispositions.

Over the past 25 years, I’ve realized that far too many people who are caught up in the criminal justice system fail to make lasting changes in their lives. In other words, they didn’t learn a thing. They continue to hang around the same people they did before and do the same things that got them into trouble in the first place. I handle a lot of drug cases, and although treatment clearly helps, it isn’t the most important factor in preventing future relapse or legal problems. The most important factor involves the company we keep. Putting together a supportive community which will hold one accountable goes a long way to lowering recidivism rates. Hanging around the old crowd seems invariably brings about the same old results.

I do what I do because I want to see lasting changes in my clients’ lives. I do not believe it is enough to successfully steer a defendant through the system, plea bargaining the least painful deal, without dealing with underlying causes. I want my clients to live happy and productive lives, developing positive relationships and a support network which will provide loving accountability. I wish I could say that a majority of my clients have bought into this vision. However, I am an optimist, so I will keep trying to motivate, encourage and inspire them to do so.