Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 Source: Times-Picayune, The (LA) Copyright: 2001 The Times-Picayune Contact: http://www.timespicayune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/848 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) LAWSUIT COULD FORCE CHANGES AT RAPIDES DRUG COURT ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) -- A lawsuit contends that Rapides Parish is improperly referring all drug-related cases to specialized drug courts, whether the defendant wants to participate in the program or not. Generally, defendants go to Louisiana drug courts only if they have agreed to plead guilty -- the idea being that defendants who admit their problems are rewarded with the opportunity for sentences that focus more on treatment than incarceration. The Rapides Parish drug court, however, allows defendants to plead not guilty, and one judge, Tom Yeager, presides over all drug court cases. "The judge handling the (drug) court is not supposed to be trying the cases," but rather should focus only on sentencing and treatment, said Glenn Cortello a defense attorney who filed the lawsuit for McKenzy Celestine. A person who does not wish to plead guilty or seek treatment should have the opportunity of a trial assigned randomly to a judge, without any drug court involvement, Cortello said. Yeager said he could not discuss pending litigation. Cortello contends the Rapides Parish system also violates a state law preventing one judge from trying certain types of cases to the exclusion of other judges in the district. All other types of criminal cases are randomly assigned. Cortello's lawsuit asks that Celestine's case also be randomly assigned. A hearing is scheduled July 16. Cortello said he plans to file similar motions on behalf of other similar situated defendants in the next week. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe