Editor’s note: The following story appeared Sunday, May 22, on eastmanexaminer.com and has been republished here with permission from the author, Jimmy Joines. “DouglasNow.com” has not verified any statements or facts mentioned within the article, and it has been edited only for grammar and punctuation.
The first apparent announcement of an “impending area drug court” first became public knowledge when Chief Superior Court Judge H. Frederick Mullis, Jr. appeared before the Dodge County Board of Commissioners on April 4, 2016. Mullis was there to further explain his request that the Dodge Commissioners effectively turn over control of the county’s Drug Abuse Treatment and Education (DATE) fund to him.
Mullis stated that the Oconee Judicial Circuit is “on the verge of establishing a drug court,” one of the last circuits in the state to do so; he added that rural circuits have generally been more reluctant.
Mullis also said that the local money required to support such a court has been here all along and is not taxpayer money but rather money from the DATE fund, set aside by the governor for local input.
According to Mullis, “The local share required of the county is approximately 10 percent, with the rest funded strictly by grant money. Anticipated costs range between $175 and $190 thousand. The local share is designated under Georgia Code § 15-21-101, which states, ‘Moneys collected pursuant to this article and placed in the County Drug Abuse Treatment and Education Fund shall be expended by the governing authority of the county for which the fund is established solely and exclusively for drug abuse treatment and education programs relating to controlled substances and marijuana’.”
Mullis shared that a resolution similar to the one that he presented the Dodge Board was also presented to Telfair County, where he stated, “A previous sheriff used drug fund money to pay for the sheriff’s toys. That was clearly not what was anticipated for the drug fund. Upon adoption, Telfair’s DATE fund is well into six figures.”
But not everyone agrees with the proposed drug court plans.
Last week, Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson went on the record in opposition to the creation of a drug court for the Oconee Judicial Circuit and requested that the Telfair Board of Commissioners consider rescinding the resolution passed by a previous board and take back control of the fund.
Sheriff Steverson says he has requested Judge Mullis to expend funds from the DATE fund, money for a drug dog, supplies, and equipment necessary to demonstrate and educate school children. As of yet, the judge has not responded to his request. Judge Mullis had previously approved this same request made by the previous Sheriff, Johnny Smith.
Although not requested yet, he would also like to fund a CHAMPS program for the schools, similar to what Dodge County is currently doing.
“For the record, since taking office, my office hasn’t used one single penny of DATE fund monies and we desperately need to be using these funds to educate our school children about the dangers of drugs. I’m all about helping people who have gotten off track because of drug addiction; however, I don’t put drug offenders ahead of our impressionable school children,” said Steverson. He went on to say, “At this time, it appears that the drug court may become mandated by the state legislature in 2017, and that effort won’t be able to be stopped on the local level, but hopefully, more informed citizens may be able to make their views known to the legislators.”
Steverson also told me, “I’m not necessarily taking issue with the judge in the matter of the drug court, I just want our commissioners to take back control of our fund and decide on how best it should be used, as was intended by the legislators by placing it in their hands in the first place.”
State Representative Jimmy Pruett was in attendance for the presentation.
Steverson introduced Pierce County Sheriff Ramsey Bennett to the Board and presented detailed information about the experience of Pierce County since starting the drug court in their circuit.
Ramsey referred to the drug court as the “Hug-A-Thug” program.
Sheriff Bennett gave an informative 20-minute presentation; in which it was shown there are many costs involved with drug court that ultimately costs the local taxpayer in other ways that are not funded by the DATE fund.
A few points brought up by Sheriff Ramsey;
* Offenders who are accepted into the drug court program that violated the orders of the court, or go on to be arrested for repeat offenses, are housed in the county jail at the local tax payers’ expense instead of being sent to state correctional facilities.
* In 2014, 100% of (Pierce County) drug court participants went on to be arrested again on new felony charges. Only 11% on “regular probation” committed new offenses in 2014.
* Every judge in the circuit will receive an automatic $6000 per year raise. The district attorney and the public defender will receive a $6000 per year raise, as well.
* From the beginning of the creation of drug court in the Waycross Judicial Circuit in 2008 through December 2015, only five (Pierce County) participants have successfully completed the two-year program.
The Telfair Board has not yet taken action on the sheriff’s request.
About the author:
Hi, I’m Jimmy Joines. Most everyone in Eastman and McRae probably knows me as a local police officer, but I gave that up about three years ago. I spent somewhere around 23 years in law enforcement. The first 13 years were moving around a bit and include the McRae, Alamo, Lumber City, and Milan Police Departments. The last 10 years was with the Eastman Police Department and the last 5 of those years as the Department’s Criminal Investigator.
Since leaving law enforcement, I went into commercial truck driving. That went really well until I injured my back in late 2012 and am still recovering from that injury. What I have found in the meantime to keep me occupied is to blog and share with my friends. I hope you all enjoy my contributions and feel free to contact me anytime at jimmy @ eastmanexaminer.com.