Pubdate: Tue, 26 Dec 2006
Source: Birmingham News, The (AL)
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1167128258183300.xml&coll=2
Copyright: 2006 The Birmingham News
Contact:  http://al.com/birminghamnews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/45
Author: Eric Velasconews, staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

SUCCESSOR SOUGHT FOR DRUG COURT'S JOHNSON

Even though District Judge O.L. "Pete" Johnson has  retired, the Drug 
Court he founded in Jefferson County  will continue to provide a 
treatment alternative to  prison for nonviolent drug offenders.

Johnson's replacement will run the Drug Court, a  nationally 
recognized program that boasts almost 2,300  graduates in 11 years.

"The court has been such a success that whoever  replaces Judge 
Johnson will run the court," said  Circuit Judge Scott Vowell, the 
presiding judge in  Jefferson County. "It's done too much good and 
it's  been too successful to let it go."

But the person appointed to replace Johnson will be  crucial for the 
court's long-term success, said Foster  Cook, director of the 
Treatment Alternatives for Safer  Communities at the University of 
Alabama at Birmingham,  which administers the program.

"If we don't get the right person in there who believes  in it and 
sees it as an opportunity, we'll lose  momentum," he said. "That's 
really important for  managing cases through the system and keeping 
people  out of prison and the county jail who don't need to be  there."

Twenty-eight people applied for Johnson's seat.

The county's Judicial Qualification Commission selected  three 
finalists last week : W. Davis Lawley Jr., Mary  Kay Laumer and Alan 
Baty. Gov. Bob Riley will appoint  the judge, and the seat will be 
open for election in  2008.

In the Drug Court, people arrested for possession are  diverted into 
an intensive treatment program, which  also requires the client to 
hold a job and perform  community service.

Graduation takes a minimum of 6 months for people with  no prior 
convictions and 12 months for the rest. But  some need more time.

"Sometimes it takes three or four years," said Johnson,  who has 
continued to handle a full docket, even though  he retired Nov. 30. 
"Some courts only allow 18 months.  But what if someone needs more 
than 18 months? Why not  take longer, if it turns them around?"

That level of patience and an understanding of the medical aspects of 
addiction will be important for the next Drug Court judge, Cook said.

"There's a need to take the long view," he said. "They didn't get 
there overnight. It's a chronic, relapsing disorder."

Jefferson County also has an adult drug court in Bessemer Cutoff, and 
a juvenile program in Birmingham's Family Court. They also are 
administered by TASC. Shelby County also has a drug court, and 
Alabama's new chief justice, Sue Bell Cobb, wants to establish drug 
courts in all 67 counties.

Johnson's court was a featured stop for participants in the National 
TASC conference held in Birmingham in September.

"It's a national model," Vowell said. "The Drug Court is one of the 
most important things we do."

Johnson is the third District Court judge to announce his retirement this year.

Riley appointed Norman G. Winston Jr. last month to replace John 
Alsbrooks on the civil court bench. A series of specially appointed 
judges have taken over the criminal docket of retired Judge Robert 
Cahill. Katrina Ross, elected in November to replace Cahill, will 
take office next month.

Staying on a year:

Johnson said he will stay on until his successor is named. And then 
he will continue to supervise his current caseload for at least 12 months.

"It would be overwhelming for a new judge to come in with 700 pending 
cases," he said.

Johnson's Drug Court is very much a reflection of his personality, 
which Johnson has described as hard-boiled but compassionate for 
those truly trying to make a change. The new judge will put his or 
her own stamp on the court, Vowell said.

The Drug Court is a worthwhile effort, Cook, Vowell and Johnson said.

"We take addicts who are not productive, who would steal to support 
themselves and their habit and we teach them to live drug free - to 
get to work and pay taxes, instead of ripping us off," Johnson said. 
"Every time we can turn somebody around, everybody wins."