Should drug courts accept people with prior criminal convictions into treatment?
An important part of planning drug courts is deciding which defendants and offenders should be allowed to participate. Some courts are very restrictive about prior records of arrests or convictions, while others have more open criteria. Focus groups in Las Vegas and Portland were asked whether they thought the drug court option should be reserved for first-time offenders or be open to persons with extensive criminal records. Las Vegas focus group participants said that drug court should be an option for both first timers and multiple timers, but there should be limits on the number of chances defendants receive. Portland participants agreed that the program should definitely not be restricted to first-time offenders everyone deserves a chance, regardless of the circumstances. Click here for excerpts of comments from focus group participants. Should dealers be allowed to participate in drug court treatment? In San Bernardino, one of the participants freely discussed his role as a drug d
