The Importance of Roles, Power and Ethical Standards of Drug Court Officials

Often, in the traditional adversarial court system,
prosecutors work to secure a conviction of drug offenders
whereas the defense seeks dismissal of the
charges or a less punishable sentence. The judge
acts as a neutral entity hearing testimony and sustaining
or overruling arguments made by opposing
sides. In drug courts, which is a type of non-adversarial
problem-solving court, these members of the
courtroom work group work together to enhance the
likelihood of drug offenders reducing their substance
abuse and future criminal activity. With the growing
incarceration rate in the United States, some states
have opted to use drug courts as a way to divert offenders away from prisons. In this poster, I present
data collected via one drug court observation and
film notes discussing the roles, power and ethical
standards of drug court officials and how they differ
from the traditional adversarial system.