Pubdate: Wed, 16 Oct 2002
Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL)
Copyright: 2002 Orlando Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325
Authors: Doris Bloodsworth, and Pedro Ruz Gutierrez

NOELLE BUSH'S DRUG-COURT HEARING WILL BE OPEN TO PUBLIC, JUDGE RULES

In a ruling hailed Tuesday as a victory for public access, an Orange County 
circuit judge denied a request from attorneys for Noelle Bush to close 
drug-court proceedings.

Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead, who oversees the county's drug-court 
program, concluded in his 16-page opinion that the public's right to have 
access to court proceedings outweighed a drug-treatment patient's right to 
privacy.

Whitehead also scheduled a hearing for Thursday to determine whether the 
25-year-old daughter of Gov. Jeb Bush can stay in her program or whether 
she will be returned to the regular criminal-justice system for violating 
rules in the drug-treatment program.

"Open access is critical so that the public can see that drug court is 
working to reduce the recidivism rate and return individuals to a 
productive state," Whitehead wrote. "Open access is necessary in order to 
demonstrate that the program is worthy of public support."

Attorneys for Bush had sought to close hearings on her status in the 
drug-court program, citing federal confidentiality laws. Attorneys for the 
Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun-Sentinel opposed that effort, 
pointing to the longstanding American tradition of open courts.

Governor accepts decision

Gov. Bush said he accepted the judge's decision. But he was clearly unhappy 
about it, saying that public hearings would make recovery more difficult 
for his daughter and for other drug-court patients.

"All I can tell you is it's a lot harder to deal with drug addictions with 
these big lights, but it's his court," Bush said at a campaign stop in 
Miami Shores.

"The sad fact is, and the good news is, that frankly cameras and reporters 
aren't as interested in the other people in drug court, so they have some 
degree of privacy to be able to cope with their addictions," Bush said. 
"And I'm happy about that. I just wish my daughter would be given the same 
treatment."

Orlando Sentinel Vice President and Editor Tim Franklin said, "As a father, 
I can empathize with what the governor is going through. But there's an 
important legal principle at stake, and that is the public having access to 
its court system."

Noelle Bush's attorneys did not return phone calls.

Hearing will go ahead

Court officials said the ruling cleared the way for Whitehead to hear 
Thursday from workers at the Center for Drug-Free Living about reports last 
month that Bush had hidden a small "rock" of crack cocaine in her shoe. The 
judge had suspended drug-court status hearings until he ruled on Bush's 
confidentiality request.

In July, Whitehead sent the governor's daughter to the Orange County Jail 
for two days after staffers caught her with unauthorized prescription 
pills. He could send her back to jail, or throw her out of the program.

Last month, Chief Circuit Judge Belvin Perry Jr. had ruled that workers at 
the center could not be subpoenaed by the State Attorney's Office to answer 
questions about the crack cocaine, citing federal confidentiality laws 
governing drug-treatment programs.

Drug courts provide a way for people to avoid criminal records and prison 
time by complying with stringent treatment and counseling requirements. 
Noelle Bush, who is the niece of President Bush, entered the program after 
she was arrested in Tallahassee in January on charges she tried to purchase 
the anti-anxiety drug Xanax with a fake prescription. She transferred to 
the Orange County program in February.

After Perry's ruling, her attorneys sought to close her biweekly status 
hearings, arguing that under federal law she had an expectation of privacy 
while discussing her treatment. They argued that drug courts were not like 
criminal courts because they emphasize rehabilitation, not punishment.

But Whitehead explicitly rejected that argument.

"Drug court status hearings are first and foremost a criminal court 
proceeding," he wrote, adding that, "All drug court participants, including 
Defendant, have been charged with a crime and are facing prosecution by the 
State for that crime unless and until they successfully complete the drug 
court program."

Said Sentinel attorney David Bralow: "The attorneys for Noelle Bush were 
trying to create an exception to well-recognized rules that all criminal 
proceedings are open. We're very happy that the court understood that there 
isn't really a difference."

Open-government advocates and drug-treatment officials had been watching 
the decision, believing that a ruling closing drug courts would probably be 
picked up by other judges across the country.

"It's the kind of decision we don't see enough of," said Gregg Leslie, the 
legal defense director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 
in Arlington, Va.

Even groups supporting confidentiality for drug offenders applauded the 
decision.

Catherine O'Neill, vice president of the Legal Action Center, said, "It's a 
good balance of the considerations: promoting treatment but at the same 
time promoting proper monitoring of individuals who are in drug court."

Orange-Osceola Public Defender Bob Wesley said the ruling nullifies his 
efforts last week to close hearings for all drug-court participants. He 
said the motion he filed was to ensure that all defendants were treated the 
same.

The State Attorney's Office, which plans to appeal Perry's decision 
protecting the subpoenaed workers, agreed with the judge's decision.

'Today' show

The governor, who is running for re-election, had talked earlier in the day 
on NBC's Today show about his daughter's struggles.

"It puts huge strains on families," he said, but said his daughter had to 
confront her addiction.

He also called "ridiculous" suggestions that his daughter had received 
preferential treatment.

"It's just not true," Bush said. "In fact, as a father my concern is to 
make sure that she's treated as she should be treated and people don't go 
overboard because of who she is to treat her differently."

"I see pictures of her when she was 3 or 4 years old, and I vividly 
remember that," Bush said. "But now she's 25, and the laws apply to her as 
they apply to anyone else."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart