Legislature(2003 - 2004)
02/26/2003 02:23 PM House JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
February 26, 2003
2:23 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
SENATE JUDICIARY
Senator Ralph Seekins, Chair
Senator Scott Ogan, Vice Chair
Senator Gene Therriault
Senator Hollis French
HOUSE JUDICIARY
Representative Lesil McGuire, Chair
Representative Tom Anderson, Vice Chair
Representative Jim Holm
Representative John Coghill
Representative Ralph Samuels
Representative Les Gara
Representative Max Gruenberg
MEMBERS ABSENT
SENATE JUDICIARY
Senator Johnny Ellis
HOUSE JUDICIARY
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS:
Judicial Council - Bill Gordon;
Violent Crimes Compensation Board - LeRoy Barker, Gerad G.
Godfrey
CONFIRMATIONS POSTPONED
OVERVIEW: PARTNERS FOR PROGRESS, THERAPEUTIC/WELLNESS COURTS,
ELECTRONIC MONITORING FOR ALCOHOL RELATED OFFENDERS
TAPES
03-05, SIDE A [SENATE JUD TAPE]
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
CHAIR RALPH SEEKINS convened the joint meeting of the Senate
Judiciary Standing Committee and the House Judiciary Standing
Committee at 2:23 p.m. Present at the call to order from the
Senate Judiciary Standing Committee were Senator French, Senator
Therriault and Chair Seekins. Senator Ogan arrived shortly
thereafter. Chair Seekins turned the gavel over to Chair Lesil
McGuire of the House Judiciary Standing Committee to chair the
meeting.
CHAIR LESIL McGUIRE introduced the House Judiciary Standing
Committee members present at the call to order. Present were
Representative Samuels, Representative Coghill and Chair
McGuire. Representative Gruenberg, Representative Holm
Representative Anderson and Representative Gara arrived shortly
thereafter. The agenda had been amended and the business before
the committee was an overview on Partners for Progress,
Therapeutic/Wellness Courts, and Electronic Monitoring for
Alcohol Related Offenders.
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
MS. JANET McCABE, Board Chair, Partners for Progress, Ms. Robyn
Johnson, Executive Director, Partners for Progress, and Ms. Jill
McLeod, Attorney and Coordinator, Center for Therapeutic
Justice, presented an overview.
MS. JANET McCABE informed committee members Partners for
Progress is the non-profit corporation that works with the
Anchorage Wellness Court to provide community based services.
Partners for Progress also works with other communities
interested in starting programs that deal with repeat alcoholic
offenders. Legislative support has made the program possible;
it has had great success at both the felony and misdemeanor
levels. Last year legislation passed that increased the
effectiveness of the Wellness and Therapeutic Courts and a
resolution in support of the house arrest program in combination
with treatment programs to reduce the costs of incarceration.
MS. McLEOD explained Therapeutic Courts are special courts that
handle cases involving alcohol and drug addicted offenders by
utilizing the coercive power of the court, extensive treatment
and supervision. Therapeutic Courts have three primary goals:
· Reduce recidivism
· Lower substance abuse
· Rehabilitate participants
MS. McLEOD reviewed the history, support and cost effectiveness
of therapeutic courts. She spoke of the greatly reduced cost
and recidivism rate of offenders going through the Therapeutic
Court programs nationwide. Alaska has seven therapeutic court
programs. Approximately 80 percent of crimes in Alaska are
associated with alcohol. The benefit of the Wellness Court is
that it gets the alcohol out of the alcoholic.
JUDGE JAMES WANAMAKER, 3rd Judicial District Anchorage,
explained the Wellness Court provides a complete program for
getting offenders to sobriety and provides them with tools to
maintain sobriety. Without the Wellness Courts, offenders
usually serve jail time and receive no rehabilitation. The
Anchorage Wellness Court Treatment Plan is as follows:
· Alcohol assessment
· Enter treatment with an alcoholism counselor
· Take naltrexone, a medication that stops cravings for
alcohol
· Appear frequently before the Wellness Court Judge for
compliance hearings
· Attend a support group for people taking naltrexone
· Attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings
· Attend "Moral Recognition Therapy" (cognitive
behavioral training addressing moral reasoning,
decision making and faulty, irrational beliefs in
addicts)
· Work/attend school
· Be monitored for continued sobriety
· Maintain sobriety for 18 months
JUDGE WANAMAKER informed committee members the Wellness Court is
over capacity and looking to double capacity to 80 offenders. He
discussed the Anchorage DUI (driving under the influence) felony
courts.
MR. MIKE FOLEY, a graduate of the Wellness Court, explained his
cravings for alcohol, the positive effect of naltrexone and his
experiences with the Wellness Court Treatment Plan. He has
successfully maintained sobriety for the last three years.
Senate and House Judiciary Committee members asked questions of
all the presenters regarding specifics of the courts, programs,
naltrexone, recidivism rates, funding and statistics.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There were no announcements.
COMMITTEE ACTION
The committee took no action.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the committees,
the joint meeting between the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee and the House Judiciary Standing Committee was
adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
NOTE: The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes were
taken. A copy of the tape(s) and log notes may be obtained by
contacting the Senate Records Office at State Capitol, Room 3,
Juneau, Alaska 99801 (mailing address), (907) 465-2870. After
adjournment of the second session of the 23rd Alaska State
Legislature, this information may be obtained by contacting the
Legislative Reference Library at (907) 465-3808.
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