Tammy Westcott, Assistant District Attorney Director of Alternative Courts Tulsa County, Oklahoma

Transcription

1 Tammy Westcott, Assistant District Attorney Director of Alternative Courts Tulsa County, Oklahoma

2 Non-adversarial courts An effective prosecutor has a different mindset Therapeutic approach Teamwork with the judge, defense attorneys, and the drug court team Works toward recovery and productive citizenship rather than incarceration Belief in the effectiveness of alternative courts

3 Action and result oriented behavior, instead of one that waits for things to happen and then tries to adjust (react) Identifies and explores opportunities Takes preemptory action against potential problems rather than solving a problem after it occurs *from Business Dictionary

4 #1: Participates fully as a Drug Court team member, committing him or herself to the program mission & goals and works as a full partner to ensure their success. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

5 #2: The prosecutor participates as a team member, operating in a nonadversarial manner, promoting a sense of a unified team presence. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

6 Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts* #3: As part of the Drug court team, in appropriate non-court settings (i.e. staffing), the prosecutor advocates for effective incentives and sanctions for program compliance or lack thereof. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

7 Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts* #4: Ensures community safety concerns by maintaining eligibility standards while participating in a non-adversarial environment which focuses on the benefits of therapeutic program outcomes. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

8 Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts* #5: Monitors offender progress to define parameters of behavior that allow continued program participation and suggests effective incentives and sanctions for program compliance. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

9 Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts* #6: Is knowledgeable about addiction, alcoholism and pharmacology generally and applies that knowledge to respond to compliance in a therapeutically appropriate manner. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

10 Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts* #7: Is knowledgeable of gender, age and cultural issues that may impact the offender s success. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

11 Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts* #8: Contributes to the team s efforts in community education and local resource acquisition. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

12 Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts* #9: Contributes to the education of peers, colleagues and the judiciary on the efficacy of Drug Courts. *from Adult DCPI Trainings

13 Practical ways to be a proactive prosecutor

14 Become active in pre-screening defendants and encouraging application to drug court Work with Court Services or other agency at the jail to pre-screen possible applicants Notify the arraignment judge and/or fellow prosecutors that a person might be a good candidate for an alternative court (not a guarantee) Scan intake or charges ready to be filed for potential candidates and have a way to flag cases

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20 Mar-10 Mar-11 Mar-12 Feb Dec-10 Dec-11 Dec March 2010 March 2011: 11% increase March 2010 March 2012: 14% increase March 2010 Feb 2013: 39% increase End of year active counts 2010 vs. 2011: 8% increase 2010 vs. 2012: 28% increase

21 to 2011: 28% increase 2010 to 2012: 53% increase

22 Write articles for local criminal law publications (handout Collaborative Justice ) Hold training events for all assistant district attorneys in your office Who are good candidates for the program Admission procedures Get a group associated with alternative courts to provide lunch Try to encourage the administration to allow new attorneys to shadow you for a day or two

23 #3: Encourage Graduation & Pro-social behavior Orientation speech Reminders at review dockets Holidays Warning if you see trends (i.e. K2 use) Be present in staffing and at review dockets Congratulate participants at promotions & encourage continued compliance (*post-plea adjudication) Attend Graduations

24 Research confirms that the presence of the prosecutor at staffing and review dockets matters Courts where the prosecutor attended staffing meetings had an average graduation rate of 58% versus 43% in courts where attendance occurred only occasionally or not at all. For drug courts where the prosecutor attended drug court sessions, graduation rates were higher (55% vs. 46%) and there was substantial improvement in participant outcome costs compared to courts where the prosecutor did not attend (34% improvement in lowering outcome costs relative to their comparison group. ) NPC Research March _Cross-site_Final_Report_0308.pdf

25 Graduates 2011 Graduates % increase in # of graduates

26 Maintain a mindset of working with your team on therapeutic approaches toward recovery and productive citizenship, rather than incarceration Continue to educate yourself about best practices, addiction, alcoholism, and pharmacology Make efforts to educate peers, colleagues, the judiciary, and the community on the efficacy of Drug Courts (write articles, hold training events)

27 Seek ways to encourage more applicants Be present at staff meetings and at court reviews as much as possible Encourage Pro-Social Behavior and Graduation (orientation speech, recognize promotions, attend graduation)

28 Contact Info: Tammy Westcott, ADA

29 NADCP Conference July 2013 Washington D.C. The Proactive Prosecutor in Alternative Courts Tammy Westcott Assistant District Attorney Tulsa, OK

30 An Effective Prosecutor has a Different Mindset approach Teamwork with the, defense attorneys, and the team Works toward rather than incarceration Belief in the effectiveness of alternative courts Proactive: What s it mean? and oriented behavior, instead of one that waits for things to happen and then tries to adjust (react) Identifies and explores Takes against potential problems rather than solving a problem after it occurs Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts (from Adult DCPI Trainings) #1: as a Drug Court team member, committing him or herself to the and works as a full partner to ensure their success. #2: The prosecutor participates as a team member, operating in a, promoting a sense of a unified team presence. #3: As part of the Drug court team, in appropriate non-court settings (i.e. staffing), the prosecutor advocates for and for program compliance or lack thereof. 2

31 #4: Ensures concerns by maintaining eligibility standards while participating in a non-adversarial environment which focuses on the benefits of outcomes. #5: Monitors to define parameters of behavior that allow continued program participation and suggest effective for program compliance. #6: Is knowledgeable about, and generally and applies that knowledge to respond to compliance in a therapeutically appropriate manner. #7: Is knowledgeable of, and issues that may impact the offender s success. #8: Contributes to the team s efforts in and local acquisition. #9: Contributes to education of, and the in the efficacy of Drug Courts. Practical ways to be a proactive prosecutor #1: Encouraging Applicants Become active in defendants and to drug court Work with Court Services or other agency to pre-screen possible applicants Notify the and/or that a person might be a good candidate for an alternative court (not a guarantee) Scan or ready to be filed for potential candidates #2: Educate Your Office & Other Prosecutors Write for local criminal law publications 3

32 Hold for all assistant district attorneys in your office Who are for the program Admission procedures Get a group associated with alternative courts to provide lunch Try to encourage the administration to allow to you for a day or two #3: Encourage Pro-Social Behavior and Graduation Orientation Reminders at dockets Holidays if you see trends (i.e. K2 use) Be present in staffing and at review dockets Reward participants at (*post-plea adjudication) Attend Wrapping It Up: Maintain a mindset of working with your team on approaches toward and, rather than incarceration Continue to yourself about best practices,, alcoholism, and pharmacology Make efforts to educate, colleagues, the, and the community on the efficacy of Drug Courts (write articles, hold training events) Seek ways to more applicants 4

33 Be present at and at as much as possible Encourage and Graduation (orientation speech, recognize promotions, attend graduation) 5

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38 Your Notes Contact Information: Tammy Westcott, Assistant DA