The benefits of treatment alternatives to society include: reduction in criminal behavior, an improved work force, improved social functioning of defendants, reduction in the spread of substance abuse-related disease, and reduced medical costs. This online discussion will allow participants to address these and other key issues and explore what can be done at the local level to make treatment alternatives more available.

Our chat host, Judge Arthur L. Burnett, Sr. now serves as a Senior Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, having retired from active Associate Judge status in October 1998. In addition to sitting as a Senior Judge, he serves as the Court's Community Relations Liaison Judge to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency in the District of Columbia and to promote improvements in the foster care and adoption systems. He was appointed to the Superior Court in October 1987. Before then he served as one of the United States Magistrate Judges in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for more than 14 years during two different periods, separated by serving as the Assistant General Counsel (Legal Adviser) for the United States civil Service system from 1975 to 1980. Prior to being appointed the first time as United States Magistrate Judge in June 1969 he served as the first Legal Adviser (General Counsel) of the Metropolitan Police Department, and before then for a little more than a total of 10 years first as a Staff Attorney with the United States Department of Justice in the Attorney General's Honors Program and then as a Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia. He is a 1958 graduate of New York University School of Law in the top 10% of his class and as a member of Law Review and an undergraduate in political science and economics from Howard University summa cum laude.

Chat transcript

MODERATOR: Our guest today is Judge Arthur L. Burnett, Sr., who now serves as a Senior Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, having retired from active Associate Judge status in October 1998. In addition to sitting as a Senior Judge, he serves as the Court's Community Relations Liaison Judge to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency in the District of Columbia and to promote improvements in the foster care and adoption systems.

MODERATOR: Our topic today is Treatment Alternatives in the Criminal Justice System. The benefits that treatment alternatives provide to society include reduction in criminal behavior, an improved work force, improved social functioning of defendants, reduction in the spread of substance abuse-related disease, and reduced medical costs.

MODERATOR: This online discussion will allow participants to address these and other key issues and explore what can be done at the local level to make treatment alternatives more available.

MODERATOR: Please note that the views and opinions expressed by non-CSAT staff members in the Web chats and Webcasts should not be interpreted as official CSAT policy, but, as the views and opinions of the individuals participating in these events.

MODERATOR: Now we are ready for the first question that was submitted ahead of time...

MODERATOR: I work with juvenile offenders in the great state of Texas. I would be interested in hearing about your choice of treatment programs you provide for juvenile offenders in the juvenile court system as an alternative to adult sentences. Do you feel that more is needed-i.e. more intense therapy? We offer SOTP, CDTP, and CSVOTP. However, nothing is absolute and I am always curious as to what other court systems are providing through court approved facilities for these kids. Our kids may be under juvenile corrections but they can also be determinate sentence offenders that could transfer to the adult system should they not do well in behavior and/or the resocialization program. If they do succeed in our system, then they will parole out under the adult parole system.

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: Adult drug courts and juvenile drug courts where the drug user comes before a judge are frequently being monitored. Going through counseling and therapy is one of the best approaches to help people get off drugs. Then we must have work training or job placement programs where the person can feel useful and has too much to lose to go back to drug usage. Separation from unemployment, where a person can adequately take care of themselves, is a very important part of the therapy. Counseling sessions with psychologists, therapists, and former drug users who have been able to successfully stay off of drugs is of utmost importance. Indeed, this is an area in which the judicial system and the public health system should work as closely as possible with the medical aspects to solve an addiction problem, whether the problem is marijuana or more serious drugs such as heroin or cocaine. Therapists should emphasize the strong points a person has, and reinforce their attributes so that the person will continue to be encouraged to improve. Simply, emphasize the positive, downplay the negative, and praise the success.

acox: What do you think about the use of flash incarceration as a method for keeping individuals in drug treatment?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: If the term flash incarceration is the same as shock incarceration, it can be showing the person what the alternatives are. But it should not be done to the point where it discourages the person to achieve. Most people working in this area feel that graduated sanctions are geared to the particular type of infraction, and this is the better way to go, rather than lock people up for a few days and put them back out. But the sanction should be geared towards the nature of the offense or infraction. We should not just put people in jail where there would be an overreaction, that is reacting beyond what the circumstances require. The punishment should fit the crime.

MODERATOR: This question was submitted ahead of time. Does taking DUI classes before your court date have any effect in the judge's ruling?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: It should have no influence in the determination of guilt, whether or not the person was guilty, but it should influence the judge as to the sentence or disposition: whether the person should be subject to a fine, do community service, receive jail time, and exactly how much time the person should spend in jail. It is important however, that the judge determine the disparity of the individual participating in such a program.

edrunson: What methods have shown to be effective for relapse prevention for offenders who have been through a drug court sanctioned treatment program?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: Youngsters, especially juveniles, may be required to attend court sessions and observe what happens to adults who develop serious drug problems, including getting AIDS from dirty needles, which helps in preventing relapse or continued drug use. Judges will frequently require juveniles to write a paper on the consequences of drug usage. We frequently have former drug addicts relate their history so they [offenders] hear from the horse's mouth about the health and medical aspects, as well as incarceration. Holding out positive rewards for staying clean is also a means to preventing relapse. Getting youngsters into specialized training programs or activities is effective; it excites them, then they feel they have too much to lose to relapse.

edrunson: Judge, drug courts seem to always be discussed in the context of criminal cases. What power does a judge have to order treatment in civil cases where substance abuse seems to be a major factor, i.e. divorce cases, etc.?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: My answer applies to more than just divorce. Specifically it comes up in family law cases involving children who are neglected or abused in the foster care system. Because of drug addiction problems and prostitution, these parents have not adequately taken care of their children. It also comes up in domestic violence cases involving intrafamily domestic violence, which are handled by civil protection orders rather than criminal prosecution. In both of those contexts, courts can require counseling, including alcohol or drug treatment. By the power of contempt, if the parents do not comply, in the foster care situation the court can terminate the parents' rights and put the children up for adoption. What many people do not realize is that our whole foster care system in the United States is impacted by parents with serious alcohol or illegal drug problems. Based on my 30 years of experience, 50 to 60 percent of foster care children have parents who have either alcohol or drug problems. There is a substantial connection between the whole foster care system and alcohol and drug problems. And in addition, this applies to juvenile delinquency where children are arrested for joy riding in stolen cars, shoplifting, or destruction of property. This is from inattention of parents who have alcohol and drug problems. Thus, a substantial amount of juvenile cases come from parents not providing supervision due to their own alcohol and drug problems.

JudgeITO: There seems to be a trend of repeat offenders when it comes to DUIs and DWIs. How does the criminal justice system determine the penalty for a first time offender? I am asking because a friend of mine was killed in a car crash by a repeat DWI offender. What can be done to deter repeat offenders?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: In many States across the country, the State's legislature has increased the penalties. The first offense is a specific penalty, second sentence would be greater, and the third even greater. The legislative body provides for increased sentences or longer sentences for repeat offenders. They can also provide that a certain part of a repeat offender's sentence be mandatory and require a prison sentence. If the person is a third offender and is driving on a suspended license, then the person can be charged with involuntary manslaughter. Then the prosecutor can charge the driver for a homicide offense, which carries 10-15 years in prison.

Terry Bruce: When do you think that the courts will start to recognize the use of medication in the treatment of alcohol addiction?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: With reference to alcoholism and the use of medication or the medical field, I served on the American Bar Association's standing committee for substance abuse for 4 years. We treated it as a combined medical and legal problem with reference to medical as well as legal aspects. In my experience, judges' training programs, both in their own courts as well as in programs throughout the Nation, have a discussion of medical, public health, and legal aspects. All three disciplines are involved in dealing with both alcohol as well as illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and PCP. So the assumption that courts are not concerned about the medical aspects is an error. We had a representative from the American Medical Association on the American Bar Association's standing committee. There was a partnership between the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association and a collaboration of how the courts and lawyers could best use information from the medical community and how the medical community could best use information from the legal community.

MODERATOR: This question was previously submitted. I have served my time and then educated myself in the field of addictions and Prevention to the tune of a bachelor's degree in social sciences with an addiction focus at the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH. An agency here, one of the largest in southwestern Ohio, claims they cannot hire me to work as a counselor because the Federal Government will not fund them if ex-felons work for them. The State of Ohio has certified me as a counselor after I passed an examination for chemical professionals. Is this so and why?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: Unfortunately your inquiry is correct in that Congress has passed certain laws that keep ex-felons and drug violators from receiving certain benefits. This impacts many single mothers as to what benefits they can get. And there is an effort now to get Congress to amend the laws because they are too inflexible. The solution, of course, is for you to contact the members of Congress from your State so they know your story and understand how the current laws operate and are failing and do not take into consideration special circumstances. So the answer lies with reference to Federal programs and money received from Federal agencies, which has to come from the U.S. Congress. It is a legislative decision, and that is how is has to be changed.

T Therman: How can we as therapists help the public as well as the people that fund treatment facilities understand the need for reintegration facilities for juveniles? If we are going to have any success, you would think that we would have to assist our youth in social and life living skills, as well as skills to deal with relapse they can put into practice and gain some self confidence in.

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: The answer is that we definitely need programs for prevention that are holistic and develop life and social skills and give the person a sense of self esteem. So the answer is that most people involved with youngsters, the ages of 6-12, should be giving social and life skills foundations to youth. This will prevent them from becoming juvenile delinquents or maladapted people when they get to be in their later teens or young adults. Indeed it is my view that Congress and State legislative bodies should have more prevention programs for ages 6-12 so that we do not have to build more prisons for late teens or adults. The more we can develop wholesome, positive attitudes in children ages 6-12, the better off they will be.

JudgeITO: If all drugs are deemed bad, why does possession/distribution of some drugs carry harsher penalties than others?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: Why some drugs are punished more seriously than others is based on how dangerous Congress or State legislative bodies perceive the drug to be. And the lobbying influence of special interest groups that employ Congress and State legislative bodies influence their thoughts as to the seriousness of these drugs. It is a legislative decision depending on the decision of our individual legislatures. I would also suggest that the news media plays a role in influencing Congress and State legislative bodies as to what drugs are serious and which ones are not so serious.

crichard: Is mentoring used in alternative treatments and does it have any positive effect on recidivism?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: Mentoring, if properly done, can be extremely important for reprogramming the values a person has. If you have a mentor who works with a youngster, it can be like giving them a total rebirth and changing that youngster's perspective on life. One of the values I have advocated is that senior citizens in good health could become mentors to youngsters. This could impact them and prevent them from engaging in crime or juvenile delinquent conduct. Mentors can turn a child's life totally around, i.e. a student flunking out can become an A or B student and excel. It must be emphasized that a mentor cannot be superficial. The child must perceive the adult is really committed to him or her.

Dennis K.: Judge Burnett, would you please speak to the importance of family involvement in successful treatment, as is found in the clinical work of R. Meyers and W. Miller in their protocol (CRAFT)-Community Reinforcement and Family Therapy-out of the University of New Mexico, which involves training and support of "concerned significant others" as they learn to appropriately reinforce or not reinforce the abuser's behavior? (12 years of outcome studies)

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: With reference to involving family as an approach for a drug user to get off of drugs, it is extremely important because family can be a reinforcement or foundation for the person to feel someone cares and therefore believe that they must make the effort. The more family that is involved, the more encouragement and incentive the individual will have, and help to prevent relapses and solve the problem. And so the extent that family, spouse, children, and others cluster around that individual, it may motivate that individual to say they cannot let them down. The user thinks that if they are ready to devote that much to me, then I must succeed. So family and other people caring, from a psychological standpoint, is possibly the most important incentive to deal with an alcohol or drug problem. On the other hand, rejection or slamming the door drives the person into deeper depths of alcohol or drug addiction and is counterproductive.

Pizza The Hutt: What is the cost of these "preventive" solutions to the taxpayer opposed to "enforcing" the laws with stricter penalties (like jail time)?

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: From a theory standpoint, it is far less costly to use prevention programs and make the person a positive contributor who earns money and pays taxes than to build more prisons at a cost that is more than it would cost to send a person to college or professional school. From a concept point of view, economically speaking, it is better to invest in a prevention program than to lock them up and keep them in custody.

MODERATOR: Our chat is coming to an end. Here are some concluding remarks from our guest Judge Burnett.

JUDGE ARTHUR BURNETT: I have three strong ideas. One, prevention and rehabilitation can work. Juvenile delinquency courts can be successful in preventing recidivism and many people who have committed juvenile offenses have gone on to become outstanding contributors in our society, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Satchel Page, and Babe Ruth. If we have adequate resources, therapy, and mentors, then we can take young people and turn them around so they can become an outstanding member of society. Number two, I frequently indicate the greatest charity is to be a mentor to a kid if you still have the health and the time. It may be like contributing a million dollars, the child may be become a doctor just because you took the child and treated them like a nephew or niece and gave them new values and insights and motivated them to achieve what they are capable of accomplishing. To the extent that retired citizens have health and time to interact and speak with youngsters, they can help bridge the gap. We have to tap the great resources of our senior citizens in this country to improve the quality of life. And the third idea is to put out into the community the idea that everyone is not an academic genius. We need to come up with a skills training program for those who do not have strong academics. We need to expose them to vocations or skills that we need in our society, like plumbing, road paving, and bricklaying. We need to develop job skills training programs to find out what will be fulfilling to our youngsters. A lot of crime is anchored from [criminals] not having a sense of who they are or what they want to do in life. This is part of our whole education system, we need an assessment that is pragmatic-looking at what do you want to do in life.

MODERATOR: Our hour has concluded. For more information, visit CSAT's Recovery Month Web site at http://www.samhsa.gov and click on the Recovery Month icon.

We would like to thank our host, Judge Arthur Burnett from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for his participation in this online event, and thank our participants for their questions. This transcript will be available shortly so that others may benefit from the dialogue.

MODERATOR: Join us for our next live Web chat on Wednesday, August 21 from 3-4 p.m., featuring Jennifer Collier, Director of National Policy and State Strategy from the Legal Action Center. Our topic will be Raising Voices for Recovery.

MODERATOR: The chat has now officially ended.