The Drug Court (1 Viewer)

[goan_crazy]

Basically what does this court do?
Deal with drug offences I know
what is its jurisdiction
It was established in 1999 wasn't it.
Does anyone have any notes on it?

 

[Jago]

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/drugcrt/drugcrt.nsf/pages/drugcrt2

Drug Courts

Drug Courts are specialist courts that deal with offenders who are dependent on drugs. They emerged as a result of growing disenchantment with the ability of traditional criminal justice approaches to provide long-term solutions to the cycle of drug use and crime. Drug Courts aim to assist drug-dependent offenders to overcome both their drug dependence and their criminal offending.

The first of the Drug Courts began operation in the United States in 1989. Drug Courts have also been trialed in the United Kingdom, Canada and several Australian jurisdictions. The experience in courts of therapeutic jurisprudence including Drug Courts in the United States has strongly influenced the roles and functions of the N.S.W. Drug Court. (A bibliography can be found at www.therapeuticjurisprudence.org)

The Drug Court of New South Wales (NSW) is the first Drug Court to be trialed and evaluated in Australia. The Court began operation as a two-year pilot in February 1999. The evaluations of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research were published in February 2002 and can be found at (www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/bocsar). Following these evaluations it was decided to continue the pilot program until 2004 with some amendment to the legislation. These amendments were included in the Drug Court Act 1998 in December 2002.


Although, i don't see it mention specifically anywhere in the syllabus.

 

[goan_crazy]

Nah not in the syllabus
Just wanted 2 lines to chuck in to an essay in case they ask something about the role of the court and the court heirachy
You know how theres local court, coroners court, children's court on one level
district court then
supreme court then
court of criminal appeal then
high court
NSW drug court can also be mentioned with these I guess?

 

[Jago]

absolutely, it's a specialist court.

 

[Meldrum]

The Drug Court is a specialist court created in 1999 to deal with non-violent drug crimes. Instead of sentences it offers semi-custodial 1-year drug programs which aim to rehabilitate offenders rather than whack them in gaol or take more money from them which they don't have.

 

[Jonathan A]

I am actually writing a research report on it now for uni. It is a problem-solving court. It is faced with a problem (drug-use) and tries to solve the problem using a treatment programme.

It is also only a sentencing court. Courts refer an offender to the Drug Court and an assessment is made. A treatment plan is organised and used.

The court is made up the judge and lawyers, clinical nurse, police and probation and parole service. When a person appears, if they have taken drugs, they recieve a sanction. When they hit 14 sanctions, they serve 14 days gaol. When a person performs well, they recieve a clap at the end of their hearing.

 

[Meldrum]

Gee, thanks for that. It really helps