‘Wholly indefensible system’ owes nothing to victims
Lawyer calls the ruling against Clark County drug court plaintiffs jailed without hearings or legal representation ‘manifestly unjust.’
Drug Courts
Articles
COA reverses delinquent adjudication based on warrantless search
A teenager who was adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent after an officer conducted a warrantless search and found him in possession of a handgun and drug paraphernalia will have his adjudication reversed after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to conduct the search without a warrant.
Wrongly jailed drug court plaintiffs lose in federal court
Plaintiffs who were jailed for months without due process in a southern Indiana drug court will take nothing in their federal lawsuit against drug court staff members and county sheriff who they say were responsible for violating their constitutional rights, a judge has ruled.
COA affirms sentence for man who violated drug court rules
A man who repeatedly violated the rules and regulations of a drug court program failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals his ensuing advisory nine-year sentence was inappropriate.
Greenwood court starts program for heroin-addicted offenders
A city south of Indianapolis is offering a drug treatment program for heroin-addicted offenders that features an Indiana-made device to ease the pain of withdrawal.
Another tool for courts, police to combat drug abuse
Through Recovery of Indiana, a behavioral health program aimed at reducing drug abuse rates across the state, the Front Door Opiate Reduction Initiative is launching in new locations in Indiana to give courts and law enforcement officers additional options besides jail time for drug offenders struggling with serious addictions.
Major rights groups: Decriminalize use of all illicit drugs
As Americans debate the expanding campaign to legalize marijuana, two of the nation's most prominent human rights organizations are urging a far bolder step — the decriminalization of possession and personal use of all illicit drugs.
Ohio chief justice on court impacts, roles in drug epidemic
The chief justice of Ohio's supreme court helped bring together experts and officials from nine states, including Indiana, in a regional judicial summit on the opioid drug epidemic, even as an overdose surge sweeping nearby streets showed dramatically the scope of the problem.
Report finds drug courts number 3,000 nationwide
The number of drug courts operating in the United States is 3,057, a 24 percent increase in the last five years, according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.
Appeals court affirms reinstatement of drug sentence
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the reinstatement of a woman’s sentence after she was terminated from drug court, finding a request for new counsel she made was too late and a stay of her drug court supervision was meant to help her, not harm her.
Western Indiana drug court to close due to lack of funding
A western Indiana drug court is coming to an end because officials have run out of funding.
Specialized courts get boost in State of Judiciary
Indiana’s first commercial courts are announced a week after Rush highlights problem-solving approaches in her annual State of the Judiciary address.
COA reverses sentence imposed after failed drug program completion
A man who was ordered to serve 20 years – the maximum sentence for a Class B felony – after not completing a drug court program due to smoking Spice will be resentenced. The Indiana Court of Appeals found the trial court selected his sentence based on his failure to complete the program.
Clark County drug court wrongly jailed 63, order says
A southern Indiana drug treatment court unjustly jailed scores of program participants for an average time of almost seven weeks. The detentions are detailed in a magistrate judge’s proposed order to certify classes in a federal civil rights lawsuit former drug court participants filed against an ex-judge and other officials.
Judge must face federal lawsuit over drug court detentions
Clark Circuit Judge Jerome Jacobi must face a federal lawsuit from drug court participants who allege they were improperly detained or unlawfully arrested as participants in the problem-solving court he oversaw.
Drug court lawsuit certified as class action
A federal magistrate has approved class-action status for a lawsuit accusing southern Indiana officials of violating the civil rights of dozens of drug court participants.
Termination of drug court placement over missed therapy affirmed
A woman who missed several drug court mental health therapy sessions failed on appeal to prove she was wrongly terminated from the problem-solving court.
COA: drug court participant not entitled to credit time for electronic monitoring
The trial court properly denied awarding credit time to a drug court participant on electronic monitoring who violated the conditions of his agreement four times, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
8 more claim abuses in suspended Clark County drug court
Eight new plaintiffs have been added to a federal civil-rights lawsuit claiming officials involved in Clark County’s suspended drug court program jailed participants for months without due process, conducted improper searches and made unauthorized arrests.
Clark County drug court gets conditional approval
Clark County Drug Treatment Court participants will continue with programs diverting their criminal cases in favor of treatment, but it’s uncertain whether the troubled program may ever again serve people arrested on nonviolent drug charges.