Two circuit judges to appear on Public Television show

 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two of West Virginia’s most experienced Circuit Judges are scheduled to discuss Drug Courts on an episode of the West Virginia Public Television show "The Law Works" that will air at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, February 26, 2009.

First Circuit Judge Martin J. Gaughan, considered one of the founders of community corrections in the state, and Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Judge Russell M. Clawges, Jr., who will be the presiding judge of a Drug Court opening in Monongalia County on Friday, February 27, 2009, will be the guests on "The Law Works."

The program is a weekly show on West Virginia PBS featuring topics about legal issues that affect daily life. It is hosted by attorney Dan Ringer.

The Monongalia County Drug Court will open with a ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday at the Monongalia County Courthouse. The ceremony will take place in Courtroom Number One.

With the addition of the new adult drug court in Monongalia County, West Virginia will have five regional adult drug courts covering nineteen counties. West Virginia also has two juvenile drug courts operating in Cabell and Wayne Counties. Additional adult drug courts are expected to open this year in Cabell, Kanawha, Greenbrier, Pocahontas, and Preston Counties.

With a decade of research supporting the effectiveness of adult drug treatment courts, such programs are now recognized as an important strategy to improve substance-abuse treatment outcomes and reduce crime. Treatment courts produce greater cost benefits than other strategies that address criminal activity related to substance abuse and addiction that bring individuals into the criminal justice system (GAO February 2005 report).

Adult drug courts serve only those who have either pled guilty or been found guilty of non-violent misdemeanors and felonies, and who were motivated to commit those crimes due to a substance abuse addiction. People can volunteer for the programs to avoid jail and prison sentences, if a judge so orders.

Prosecutors have final approval of all participants, and all participants must be evaluated as a low to moderate risk to be released back into the community. People who have been charged with sex crimes or crimes in which a child was the victim are not eligible. Participants undergo substance abuse treatment and are heavily supervised by probation officers, law enforcement, and the sentencing court. If needed, they may also undergo treatment for mental illnesses. Participants may be forced to repeat certain phases if they have positive drug screens or if they refuse to cooperate. The judge may impose jail time if he or she feels it is necessary to make a participant follow the protocol.

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