EVERETT – The senior member of a team that has helped scores of people beat their drug addictions has stepped down from her role as a defense attorney on Snohomish County’s adult drug court.
Caroline Mann was in on the initial planning for the program, called Choosing Healthy Alternatives: Recovery and Treatment, or CHART.
Mann, a veteran Snohomish County public defender, had her final session last week before leaving on vacation. Marybeth Dingledy, another public defender, will take over for her, said Bill Jaquette, who leads the public defenders.
Mann and others “really helped people deal with their addictions. We think drug court is a really good thing,” Jaquette said.
The court has had two Snohomish County judges oversee activities since it started in 1999 under the guidance of Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Richard Thorpe, as well as several deputy prosecutors and other administrators. Mann is the last member of the original team.
Superior Court Judge George Bowden, who now oversees the court, said there have been 212 graduates since the first lone graduate in 2000. The most recent class had 13 graduates.
Addicts are usually in the program between 14 and 16 months. They undergo rigorous treatment, are required to attend meetings and are subject to urine tests to make sure they stay drug-free. Nonviolent drug addicts are eligible, but they are warned that the program is one of the toughest things they will ever do, program coordinator Livia Petzold said.
Many fall off the wagon during treatment and receive sanctions, such as a day or two in jail.
Over the first five years, however, less than 5 percent of the graduates have committed felonies after completing the program, deputy prosecutor Bonnie Tweten said.
Bowden said he took the most recent graduating class of 13 and calculated how much it would have cost to jail them instead of providing treatment. He said the cost of incarceration is about twice that of treatment.
And those calculations don’t include the cost of future prosecutions of addicts who would have served their time, gotten out of jail and gone right back into the system because of their addiction, he said.
Many addicts join the program but drop out or are kicked out for various reasons, including continued drug abuse, Petzold said. The defendants then must take their chances in criminal court, including potential conviction and prison time.
Drug court recognizes the process of recovery, Jaquette said. Under the normal criminal justice process, people would go to jail and likely get out without meaningful treatment.
“This program understands that there will be relapses and intermediate consequences,” Jaquette said.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
“Generally, it’s easier to just do your time and get back on the street,” Jaquette sad. “It’s one of the things that people learn.”
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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