Hillsborough County Juvenile Drug Court Program

Juvenile Drug Court Program

The Juvenile Drug Court Program is a court pretrial diversion program which allows a student who successfully completes the program to have the charges dismissed.

Juvenile Drug Court Program Requirements

The Program requires:

• Students must be under 17 years of age upon being referred. The State Attorney’s Office and the (JAC) Juvenile Assessment Center will receive notification of student being a Zero-Tolerance Hillsborough County school referral.

• Students must enroll and begin a substance abuse treatment program which the appropriate level of treatment will be determined by the student’s level of drug involvement. The standard length of the program is 6-12 months, however, the exact length is determined by the treatment and educational need. They will be required to participate in random urinalysis, drug education classes as well as group and individual counseling. Students who test positive during treatment may be referred to DETOX, which three days is a standard evaluation period. Furthermore, attendance of NA/AA meetings may be required.

EACH STUDENT REFERRED BY HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT MUST BE EVALUATED AND COMPLETE ALL RECOMMENDED TREATMENT.

Juvenile Drug Court Program family Involvement

• Parent(s) must attend an orientation and participate in the treatment program as required.

• Student and parent(s) must sign a contract with the State Attorney’s Office agreeing to participate in Juvenile Drug Court.

• Student and parent(s) will attend regular court status reviews for the purpose of judicial supervision.

Benefits of Juvenile Drug Court Program

UPON SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM COMPLETION, CHARGES WILL BE DISMISSED.

The student will receive a certificate of completion and order of dismissal from the Court which School Administration will be notified of successful program completion. Pending charges may take up to 90 days for official filing. If the student charge(s) are officially filed in another court division other than Juvenile Drug Court or not officially filed by Office of the State Attorney, students are still required to continue and successfully complete treatment as recommended.

Hillsborough County Juvenile Drug Court Program

Source: http://www.fljud13.org/Portals/0/Forms/pdfs/drugcourt/infoSheetSchoolOfficials.pdf

View Larger Map

Drug Court - Hillsborough County Winner

Hillsborough Drug Court Graduation Certificate

Drug Court - Hillsborough County, Florida - Happiest day I have ever had in years in the Hillsborough County Drug Court. Today someone who I thought was lost, to IV drug use (oxycodone etc.), completed the Drug Court Program and serious Felony Drug Charges were dropped. 

Special Thanks to Rich Uhlman, Rita Mitchell and Circuit Judge Jack Espinosa for being so patient with this guy. He went to jail several times, went through several programs, completed residential treatment, and is still alive. Congratulations to the big winner of our most courageous recovery of the year award.

View Larger Map

Drug Court | Felony Pretrial Intervention | Defense Attorney Lawyer

Drug Court Pre Trial Intervention

Former Tampa Drug Court Prosecutor and Board Certified Criminal Defense Attorney / Lawyer has been reviewing Felony Drug Court cases. Drug Court is sometimes referred to as a "Pretrial intervention program." One court recently ordered a defendant to complete a 30-day in-jail drug treatment program. The defendant had failed a drug test administered by drug court felony pretrial intervention program.

The defendant had signed a deferred prosecution agreement that demanded pretrial detention in a treatment program, if he violated the terms of the contract. Generally, a pretrial intervention program is voluntary. Completion of the program is not always voluntary The appeals court ruled that a defendant cannot opt out of the Drug Court Program.

Source: 35 Fla. L. Weekly D534a