THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
D ecember 2 0 1 8 · L AW TA L K 9 2 4
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts transforming lives The pilot scheme making a difference BY NICK BUTCHER Society tends to offer little sympathy to drug addicts and alcoholics who commit crime to feed their addiction. After all, many end up on an endless cycle of prison lags only to use drugs inside where they learn new ways of committing crime through hardened career criminals. But what if addiction was treated as a health issue and in cases where a person was assessed as suitable, that person could avoid another prison stint and instead go through supervised treatment over a period of 18-20 months to then return to the community clean and sober, with a support structure in place and a fighting chance of building a better life? Since 2012 a pilot programme entitled the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts has been running at the Waitakere and Auckland District Courts. The judges, lawyers, police prosecutors, probation officers, and other support workers are part of a team that takes a holistic approach in dealing with defendants. LawTalk met some of the team, along with a graduate of the programme.
What is the AODTC? The AODTC is the last chance saloon for many of the people who enter it. They’re lost, they’re broken and in many cases they’re unwanted because the hurt they’ve caused 84
through their addiction has led to isolation. The lawyers at Waitakere District Court are led by criminal barrister Bridie Murphy and include Rosie Abbott, Kathryn Penrose and Esma Brown. The lawyers don’t determine the treatment pathway for their clients, but they do advocate their client’s position, dealing with issues such as bail hearings or dealing with charges they may be facing. The therapeutic court is similar to a United States model. The courts have been extensively evaluated overseas and are based on evidence-based best practice. It includes restorative justice where recovering addicts are able to make amends to their victims during the course of the programme. Rosie Abbott had trained to be a prosecutor for the police in Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts and had attended a training conference. She didn’t proceed with being part of the prosecution and about two years ago joined the defence team. She is Māori and like many people she was concerned about the dismal criminal justice statistics showing that over 50% of inmates are Māori.
The house that uplifts the spirit The Māori name of AODTC is Te Whare Whakapiki Wairua, which was given to it by Sir Pita Sharples. It means ‘the house that uplifts the spirit’. For Ms Abbott, the court is a unique opportunity to play a part in helping to change those heart-breaking statistics for Māori. The court incorporates a lot of Māori values and traditions. It starts in the morning with a karakia followed by a waiata that is sung by everyone. “Defendants, lawyers, judges, registrars, police, treatment providers. It is very different compared to a traditional court. This court blows those typical ideals out of the water. We end the day with a waiata too,” she says. The court includes peer support workers who are allocated to individual defendants. They’re generally people who have been through the prison system, are
clean and sober and have built new lives. “It’s very motivating for new participants to see this as something they can do. ‘Look at my peer support worker. He or she was where I was in prison, not so long ago.’ They’re now free of active addiction, living a good life back with their family and have a job and purpose,” says lawyer Kathryn Penrose. “It’s all very well for a lawyer or judge to talk to a person about what they need to do to change their life but when you have a living and breathing example that shows the programme works, it’s highly motivating.”
Lacking the adversarial tone of other courts During the morning sessions Judge Lisa Tremewan refers to everyone working in the court as ‘team’ when she asks how individual people are doing. Judge Tremewan says all participants give informed consent to partaking in the inquisitorial approach taken by the court as they know that this gives them the best chance to succeed at something they have not been able to achieve themselves. The adversarial lawyer goes out the window, says barrister Bridie Murphy. “How it works is that a defendant will apply for a position on the AODTC. Their lawyers will make submissions to the court as to why that person should be accepted. It’s