8
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE JUDICIARY TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF
    ESTABLISHING A DRUG COURT IN THE THIRD CIRCUIT.


 1        WHEREAS, the number of drug courts nationwide, in both the
 2   planning and operational stages of development, has increased
 3   significantly; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, drug courts are now underway in forty-seven
 6   states, plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and
 7   two federal districts, including Drug Court planning in a
 8   number of Native American Tribal Courts; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, Hawaii's Drug Court program has been extremely
11   successful since its inception in January, 1996; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, Hawaii's Drug Court program is a treatment-based
14   program run by the Judiciary that offers incentives for good
15   behavior and immediate sanctions for relapses with drug use;
16   and
17   
18        WHEREAS, the purpose of Hawaii's Drug Court is to divert
19   nonviolent pre-trial and post-conviction defendants from the
20   usual criminal justice process and incarceration, and place
21   them in a comprehensive, intensive treatment program
22   integrating alternative, culturally based methods of
23   rehabilitation with on-going judicial supervision; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, under Hawaii's program, pre-trial defendants go
26   through a probationary treatment period that is tailored to
27   their specific rehabilitation needs, and must end their
28   substance abuse.  They receive counseling, life and social
29   skills, and enroll in school or find full-time employment; and
30   
31        WHEREAS, because Hawaii's Drug Court, as well as other
32   Drug Court programs, test defendants for drug use on a regular
33   basis, information regarding drug use by defendants under Drug
34   Court supervision is known to the court on an ongoing basis,
35   and is responded to with appropriate sanctions; and

 
Page 2                                                     8
                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1   
 2        WHEREAS, as a result, drug use of participants in Drug
 3   Court programs is substantially reduced and significantly lower
 4   than that reported for non-Drug Court defendants, and
 5   recidivism rates are also substantially lower; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, most criminal justice system professionals
 8   estimate that at least forty-five per cent of defendants
 9   convicted of drug possession will recidivate with a similar
10   offense within two to three years; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, in contrast, Drug Court programs are experiencing
13   a significant reduction in recidivism rates among participants.
14   The drastic reduction in drug use by Drug Court participants,
15   and the consequent criminal activity associated with drug use,
16   is confirmed by urinalysis reports for Drug Court defendants;
17   and
18   
19        WHEREAS, in addition, recognizing that substance addiction
20   is a chronic and recurring disorder, Drug Court programs
21   maintain continuous supervision over the recovery process of
22   each participant.  Drug usage or failure to comply with other
23   conditions of the program are detected and responded to
24   promptly; and
25   
26        WHEREAS, a basic premise of the Drug Court approach is
27   that cessation of drug abuse requires not only appropriate
28   treatment services but coordinated and comprehensive programs
29   of other rehabilitation services to address the underlying
30   personal problems of the drug user, to promote the user's long-
31   term reentry into society; and
32   
33        WHEREAS, drug courts are also extremely cost effective in
34   terms of reduced costs of incarceration, reduced police
35   overtime and other witness costs, and grand jury expenses.
36   Many unemployed participants who have entered drug programs
37   have become employed and self-supporting; and
38   
39        WHEREAS, many Drug Court participants are parents of minor
40   children, who have either lost or are in danger of losing
41   custody because of drug use.  Drug Court participation may
42   result in retaining or regaining custody upon completion; and
43   

 
 
 
 
Page 3                                                     8
                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1        WHEREAS, drug-free babies are more likely to be born to
 2   female Drug Court participants while enrolled in Drug Court
 3   programs, saving substantial medical and social service costs,
 4   estimated at a minimum of $250,000 per baby, that are required
 5   to care for a drug-addicted infant; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, additionally, Hawaii's and other states' Drug
 8   Court programs allow law enforcement agencies to allocate their
 9   criminal justice resources more efficiently.  Staff and
10   services that had been consumed by the less serious but more
11   time-consuming drug cases can now be targeted for more serious
12   cases and those offenders who pose greater risks to community
13   safety; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, there is an immediate need to expand Hawaii's
16   Drug Court program beyond the city and county of Honolulu to
17   address drug use in other areas of the State; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, establishing a Drug Court in the Third Circuit
20   would help to address the growing number of substance abuse
21   cases on the Big Island, and the resulting increase in the
22   number of detained and incarcerated individuals with drug abuse
23   problems, by offering an alternative to incarceration for
24   nonviolent drug-abusing offenders; now, therefore,
25   
26        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
27   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
28   of 2000, the Senate concurring, that the Judiciary is requested
29   to determine the feasibility of establishing a Drug Court in
30   the Third Circuit; and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judiciary is requested to
33   report its findings and recommendations, including any proposed
34   implementing legislation, to the Legislature no later than
35   twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of
36   2001; and
37   
38        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
39   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice of
40   the Supreme Court, the presiding Judge of the Drug Court, the
41   Administrative Director of the Courts, and the Governor.