The Proactive Prosecutor in Alternative Courts

Tammy Westcott,Assistant District Attorney

Director of Alternative CourtsTulsa County, Oklahoma

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

A Different Animal

Proactive: What’s it mean?*

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

#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.

Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts*

*from Adult DCPI Trainings

#2: The prosecutor participates as a team member, operating in a non-adversarial manner, promoting a sense of a unified team presence.

Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts*

*from Adult DCPI Trainings

#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.

Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts*

*from Adult DCPI Trainings

#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.

Core Competencies of the Prosecutor in Alternative Courts*

*from Adult DCPI Trainings

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

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

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

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

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

What does that all mean to me as a prosecutor?

Practical ways to be a proactive prosecutor

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

#1: Encouraging Applicants

Pre-Screening at booking/jail

Releaserequired

Data Transferred into Report

Final Reports Generated

Identify potential candidates in files

Active Participant Count Increases in Tulsa County Court Programs since implementing active pre-screening procedures

March 2010 – March 2011: 11% increaseMarch 2010 – March 2012: 14% increaseMarch 2010 – Feb 2013: 39% increase

End of year active counts 2010 vs. 2011: 8% increase2010 vs. 2012: 28% increase

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Increase in new pleas per year since implementing active recruitment

2010 to 2011: 28% increase2010 to 2012: 53% increase

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

#2: Educate Your Office & Other Prosecutors

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

#3: Encourage Graduation & Pro-social behavior

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2010 Graduates2011 Graduates

Increase in number of graduates since developing ways to encourage compliance & graduation

54% increase in # of graduates

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. )

Research confirms that the presence of the prosecutor at staffing and review dockets matters

NPC Research March 2008

http://www.npcresearch.com/Files/NIJ_Cross-site_Final_Report_0308.pdf

Recognize Promotions and Encourage Continued Success

Recognize Promotions and Encourage Continued Success

Recognize Promotions and Encourage Continued Success

Recognize Promotions and Encourage Continued Success

Recognize Promotions and Encourage Continued Success

Recognize Promotions and Encourage Continued Success

Wrapping It Up:

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)

Wrapping It Up: (cont.) 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)

Contact Info:Tammy Westcott, ADA918-596-4893twestcott@tulsacounty.org