Utah judge was first to see how drug court could restore lives

When it comes to people who break the law by doing illegal drugs, the solution often is to lock them up. But a decade ago, 3rd District Judge Dennis Fuchs heard a presentation about a different approach: drug court.

Fuchs didn't invent it — that honor goes to former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno when she worked as Dade County's top prosecutor in Miami, Fla.

However, Fuchs was the first Utah judge to embrace the idea and he has conducted drug court ever since. The idea caught on, and now there are drug courts throughout the state.

It's a different animal than regular court, a "stick-and-reward" approach, as Fuchs describes it. The criminal defendants who qualify and who opt for the program must follow a strict program of rehabilitation and, if successful, can wipe the slate clean with a "plea in abeyance" that removes that crime from their record.

But anyone who messes up can be booted back to a traditional court process and potentially faces jail or prison if convicted.

It has been proven nationwide that drug courts work, Fuchs said.

"It's definitely more restorative justice. Those individuals who reluctantly enter into treatment because of a court order, if kept in treatment long enough, get the idea and start working with the treatment to address the disease," he said.

"Many of those individuals were given the same opportunities for treatment before, but without that stick and that reward, have a tendency to forget they have a disease and not take treatment as seriously."

Felony drug court is usually open to criminally charged individuals who have no history of violence or drug dealing, and who are in the United States legally. There also is juvenile drug court for for young people who are substance abusers and dependency drug court for parents whose addiction makes them unfit to care for their children.

Salt Lake County Criminal Justice Services, which offers a variety of programs including help for those in drug court, conducts an assessment of each individual, according to clinical director Becky Barnett.

Drug court is rigorous and usually involves outpatient treatment, sometimes inpatient treatment, attendance at substance abuse groups, individual and/or family counseling, random urine tests, community service and frequent court appearances so the judge can be updated on an individual's progress.