Outside Box, Federal Judges Offer Addicts a Free Path

This recent New York Times article discusses how federal judges are working to create special treatment programs for drug-addicted defendants. The effort follows decades of success at the state level with “drug courts” aimed at providing treatment over incarceration to these type of offenders.

This recent New York Times article discusses how federal judges are working to create special treatment programs for drug-addicted defendants. The effort follows decades of success at the state level with “drug courts” aimed at providing treatment over incarceration to these type of offenders. In the past, federal judges have rarely adopted alternative practices such as this and many drug-addicted offenders would go straight to prison with a long sentence, without a focus on treatment to address the repetitive cycle of drug use and incarceration that many offenders find themselves in.