TRENTON – In oral arguments before the state
Supreme Court on March 20 in State v. Meyer, New Jersey Public
Defender Yvonne Smith Segars asked the high court to reverse a lower
court ruling that restricted access to the judiciary’s highly
successful statewide drug court program.
Ms. Segars, an early pioneer in the drug court movement, told
the Justices, “This Court should correct the error made by
the Appellate Division that threatens the operation, if not the
existence, of drug courts in this state.”
Ms. Segars said, “Drug court programs are holistic by design
and offer substance abuse treatment with a broad continuum of services,
intensively supervised in a non-adversarial forum with the power
of the robe leading the way.”
“Non-violent substance-abusing offenders who enter the door
of the criminal justice system should be given the opportunity
to exit through the multiple doors of treatment,” Ms. Segars
said. “Only then can they become whole, healthy, law-abiding,
self-sufficient citizens who may one day contribute to the community
in a meaningful way.”
- The mission of drug courts is to stop the abuse of alcohol
and other drugs and related criminal activity. Drug courts are
a highly specialized team process within the existing Superior
Court structure that addresses nonviolent drug-related cases.
They are unique in the criminal justice environment because they
build a close collaborative relationship between criminal justice
and drug treatment professionals.
- The drug court judge heads a team of court staff, attorneys,
probation officers, substance abuse evaluators and treatment
professionals who work together to support and monitor a participant's
recovery. They maintain a critical balance of authority, supervision,
support and encouragement.
- Drug court programs are rigorous, requiring intensive supervision
based on frequent drug testing and court appearances, along with
tightly structured regimens of treatment and recovery services.
This level of supervision permits the program to support the
recovery process, but also allows supervisors to react swiftly
to impose appropriate therapeutic sanctions or to reinstate criminal
proceedings when participants cannot comply with the program.
New Jersey has built one of the most successful and respected
drug court programs in the country. Drug courts are a leading example
of the national trend toward therapeutic jurisprudence, which seeks
to solve the endless cycle of addiction, criminality and incarceration
through treatment and intensive supervision.
“The most important aspect of this case is access to treatment,” Ms.
Segars told the Supreme Court.
LINK TO BRIEF
View the oral arguments in State v Jason Meyer at A-121-05 & A-43-06
State v. Jason Meyer in the state Supreme Court archive on
the court’s Website at http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/webcast/archive.htm
