[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3191 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3191

    To create a Federal drug court program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            October 12 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

Mr. Torricelli introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To create a Federal drug court program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Drug Court Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Drug courts.--The term ``drug courts'' means a Federal 
        district court of general jurisdiction in a high drug crime 
        district, as defined by the Department of Justice, that will--
                    (A) expedite the criminal justice process for 
                eligible offenders until such time as they are declared 
                ineligible or selected for inclusion in a drug court 
                program; and
                    (B) maintain jurisdiction over the offenders' cases 
                before, during, and after participation in the program.
            (2) Drug court program.--The term ``drug court program'' 
        means a program for substance abuse treatment and 
        rehabilitation for eligible offenders that--
                    (A) requires a successful plea agreement 
                immediately following conviction or in lieu of 
                incarceration; and
                    (B) is operated by a drug court in a State criminal 
                justice system that has agreed to accept, for a fee per 
                offender, all offenders selected for inclusion in such 
                a program by a Federal drug court.
            (3) Eligible offender.--The term ``eligible offender'' 
        means a person who meets the requirements established in 
        section 4 of this Act.
            (4) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of 
        Justice Programs of the Department of Justice.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF DRUG COURTS.

    (a) Establishment of Drug Courts.--10 Federal district courts in 
the United States, as selected by the Office, are authorized to 
establish drug courts under this Act.
    (b) Drug Court Responsibilities.--Each Federal drug court shall 
enter into an agreement with a State drug court program that will allow 
all eligible offenders to participate in the drug court program of that 
State, in exchange for the payment of a fee equal to the amount of the 
cost of the program for that offender. Each such agreement shall be 
subject to the approval of the Office.
    (c) Oversight.--Except as specified in this Act, rules governing 
drug courts will be promulgated separately by each participating 
Federal district court, with the advice of the Office, and subject to 
Department of Justice approval.

SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE OFFENDERS.

    (a) In General.--An ``eligible offender'' means a person who, by 
virtue of a Federal crime committed and other factors that the drug 
court may consider, may be considered for inclusion in the drug court 
program.
    (b) Program Participants.--Drug court program eligibility under 
this Act shall not be available to any offender who--
            (1) is accused of violent criminal offenses;
            (2) is not accused of drug, drug-related, or drug-motivated 
        offenses;
            (3) has previously been convicted of a Federal or State 
        violent felony offense; or
            (4) for any other reason within the discretion of the 
        court, does not meet all requirements of the applicable drug 
        court.
    (b) Additional Eligibility Requirements.--In addition to the 
criteria in subsection (a), no offender will be considered eligible for 
participation in a drug court program unless, following a reasonable 
investigation conducted according to standards set by the court, and 
one or more hearings before the court, consensus agreement is achieved 
among the prosecutor, the defense counsel, and the presiding judge, 
that the offender is a person who--
            (1) currently suffers from a drug dependency;
            (2) would benefit from the drug court program; and
            (3) is appropriate for inclusion in the drug court program.
    (c) Ineligible Offender Handling.--If at any point before admission 
into the drug court program, an offender is found ineligible for 
participation in a drug court program under this Act, the case of that 
offender shall be processed by the Federal district court under the 
applicable rules of procedure and sentencing.
    (d) Requirements for Drug Program Participants.--Each eligible 
offender shall understand, sign, and acknowledge understanding of drug 
court documents, including--
            (1) a waiver of the right of the offender to a speedy 
        trial;
            (2) a written plea agreement that sets forth the offense 
        charged, the sanction to be imposed in the event of a breach of 
        the agreement, and the penalty to be imposed, if any, in the 
        event of a successful completion of the drug court program, 
        except that incarceration may not be imposed upon successful 
        completion of the program;
            (3) a written treatment plan that is subject to 
        modification at any time during the drug court program;
            (4) a written performance contract requiring the offender 
        to enter the drug court program as directed by the court and 
        participate until completion, withdrawal, or removal by the 
        court; and
            (5) a limited applicability waiver of confidentiality for 
        information relating to the treatment program of the offender, 
        and progress in that program, limited only to agencies and 
parties participating in the drug court program, and agencies and 
parties participating in oversight of the case of the offender by the 
drug court.

SEC. 5. DRUG COURT OPERATIONS.

    (a) Identification of Drug Program Participants.--The Office of the 
United States Attorney office in a Federal drug court, through the 
Office, shall establish procedures for the identification of eligible 
offenders not later than 30 days after the date of arrest of the 
alleged offender.
    (b) Participant Fitness Examination.--A United States Attorney, 
defense counsel, and a treatment professional affiliated with the drug 
court program in which the offender would be placed, shall separately 
conduct investigations regarding the eligibility of an offender for 
inclusion in the drug court program. Upon a finding by any of the 
examining parties that the offender is ineligible to participate in the 
drug court program, the alleged offender shall be subject to 
prosecution under the applicable rules of procedure and sentencing.
    (c) Hearing.--Upon agreement of the prosecutor, defense counsel, 
and treatment professional that an offender is eligible for the drug 
court program, the prosecutor, defense counsel, treatment professional, 
and offender shall appear for a hearing before a drug court judge, who 
shall receive testimony from each of the examining parties.
    (d) Judicial Discretion.--Upon a finding by the judge that the 
offender is eligible for inclusion in the drug court program, the judge 
shall obtain from the offender all appropriate drug court documents, 
and the offender shall immediately be removed to the custody of the 
drug treatment program. Should the offender not agree to any of the 
conditions of participation in the drug court program, the offender 
shall be subject to prosecution under the applicable rules of procedure 
and sentencing.
    (e) Drug Court Responsibilities.--The drug court shall--
            (1) assign to the drug court program responsibility over 
        all treatment, supervision, education, job skills training, and 
        other ancillary services incidental to the program;
            (2) hold regular hearings, attended by the judge, 
        prosecutor, defense counsel, and treatment professional to 
        assess the progress of the offender within the drug court 
        program; and
            (3) assess any and all disciplinary sanctions, penalties, 
        and fines resulting from a violation by the offender of the 
        drug court program plea agreement.
    (f) Disciplinary Sanctions.--The drug court shall establish methods 
for measuring application of disciplinary sanctions, which may 
include--
            (1) short term confinement;
            (2) reintroducing the offender into the drug court program 
        after a disciplinary action for a minor violation of the 
        treatment plan; and
            (3) removal from the drug court program and reinstatement 
        of the criminal case.
    (g) Drug Court Records.--All drug courts shall maintain records 
regarding rates of recidivism, relapses, restarts, sanctions imposed, 
and incentives given. All such data shall be collected and reported 
annually by the Office.
    (h) Administrative Fees.--For each offender admitted to the drug 
court program, the drug court shall pay to the drug court program an 
amount agreed upon at the outset of the relationship between the drug 
court and drug court program. This amount shall represent payment for 
the cost of treatment, supervision, rehabilitation, education, job 
skills training, and other ancillary services that the program of the 
offender shall require.

SEC. 6. DRUG COURT PROGRAM PARTICIPANT SUPPORT.

    (a) In General.--Each drug court program shall provide all 
participating offenders with a personalized program, including elements 
of treatment, supervision, rehabilitation, education, and job skills 
training, and other ancillary services that the program of the offender 
shall require.
    (b) Participant Development.--Each drug court program shall ensure, 
at a minimum--
            (1) strong linkage between all agencies participating in 
        the drug court program, and the drug court judge, prosecutor, 
        and defense counsel responsible for oversight of the case;
            (2) access for all participating agencies to information on 
        the progress of the offender within the program, 
        notwithstanding normally confidential treatment and counseling 
        information;
            (3) vigilant supervision and monitoring procedures;
            (4) random substance abuse testing not less frequently than 
        weekly;
            (5) provisions for noncompliance, modification of the 
        treatment plan, and revocation proceedings;
            (6) availability of residential treatment facilities and 
        outpatient services; and
            (7) methods for measuring performance-based effectiveness 
        of the services of individual treatment providers.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Subject to an appropriations Act, there is authorized to be 
appropriated for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004, the following 
amounts:
            (1) $15,000,000, to the Office, to carry out a pilot 
        program to establish a Federal drug court in each of 10 cities 
        in the United States that are statistically considered high 
        drug crime areas.
            (2) $5,000,000 to the Department of Justice, for additional 
        prosecutorial resources, including personnel, dedicated to drug 
        enforcement in each of the 10 cities in which a Federal drug 
        court is established under this Act.
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