CA Court for Drug Addicts and Mentally Ill

Each year, the criminal cases of hundreds of defendants who are drug-addicted and/or mentally ill are handled in a unique court in Santa Clara County,California. Thursday afternoon and Friday morning in a courtroom in San Jose — the county seat — Superior Court Judge Stephen Manley hears the cases of defendants who are often repeat offenders due to their drug problems or mental illness. 

The program is meant to help addicts and mentally ill criminal offenders: 

• Overcome their problems
• reclaim their lives
• maintain their dignity 

Stay with Treatment or Go Back to Jail

For drug or alcohol-addicted defendants, Judge Manley offers the choice of sticking with addiction treatment or going back to jail. For mentally ill defendants, it's pretty much the same story; stay in a program and stay on prescribed medication, or face the consequences — but Manley's tough-minded compassion is as evident as the record of success in his court. 

Not an Easy Ride

Although his program may strike some observers as "touchy-feely," Manley firmly believes that jail time is necessary as leverage to get defendants into treatment and have them stay there until they're successful. When California's Proposition 36 was introduced — calling for mandatory treatment instead of jail time for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders, Manley opposed it. He contends, "The idea this is some sort of "soft on crime" program is nonsense…it's harder to do this than go to jail or prison." 

A Special Court for Vets Is Planned

Based on the successful rehabilitation of so many defendants in his court, Manley has obtained millions of dollars of federal and state money to teach his program to judges across California. He is also planning a special court for military veterans, in light of the increasing presence of Iraq and Afghanistan vets among the mentally troubled and drug-addicted individuals charged with crimes. 

(Source: Mercury News) 

For more information on these matters, please call our office at 305 548 5020.

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