The idea of the drug court came from observing the effectiveness and growth of the county’s juvenile drug court and also her personal experience representing clients in DWI and drug possession cases.
By Danny Jacobs
The Daily Record
Judge Karen H. Abrams admitted there was a slight period of adjustment when she joined the St. Mary’s County Circuit Court in the fall of 2002.
“After six months, you start to at least not feel a daily panic,” she said. “You’re not worried about being unprepared. "
Abrams has not looked back since. A Leadership in Law winner in 2003, she became the county’s administrative judge in 2005, a position she holds to this day. The role is a perfect fit for Abrams, who takes personal pride in keeping things organized.
“I’ve been able to step in where things needed tweaking,” she said.
First on her list was making sure cases in the county moved along in the court system. She established a series of benchmarks to ensure cases did not languish before being heard.
“There always seems to be a population that enjoys dragging things out and that’s not compatible with the court,” she said. “It’s a work in progress all the time. “
The same could be said of Abrams’ latest initiative, an adult drug court for the county. The idea came from observing the effectiveness and growth of the county’s juvenile drug court and also her personal experience representing clients in DWI and drug possession cases. Treatment, she learned, is much more effective if it is part of holistic rehabilitation as opposed to part of a punishment.
“You can make [treatment] a condition of probation, but you get lots of violations of probations,” Abrams said. “You’re not dealing with the whole life of a person. “
Abrams discussed her idea with the court’s juvenile drug coordinator and applied for various grants. They received a federal one early last year and went to Los Angeles to learn about that city’s drug court program.
“It was a little bit of luck and a lot of work,” she said.
Candidates for the program, which began in July, are nominated by probation agents and prosecutors and offered positions by a drug court team that meets twice a month. Though one person chose incarceration over rehabilitation, Abrams said most offenders have been receptive to the idea of drug court.
“They usually want to try to change their lives, particularly if they’ve been in and out of prison and see what’s driving it is drug abuse,” Abrams said.
The treatment program begins with intense oversight, including three urinalysis tests a week and biweekly meetings with probation agents. All the while, candidates are asked to work on their “life situations,” Abrams said, whether it is finding a place to live or work, finish a degree or receive psychological help.
“We start to try to put all of these pieces together,” she said. “It’s got to be the whole thing. “
So far, none of the 10 people who started the program have graduated, Abrams said. Several have come close - one person slipped up by having a beer, another would have moved faster had he found a job, for example.
But Abrams is pleased with the progress of the program and its participants.
“We know people are slowly moving toward success they otherwise wouldn’t be having,” she said. “It’s going the way it should be going. "
Copyright 2009 Dolan Media Newswires