Be DA for a Day

• Diversion programs allow a charge or charges to be diverted for an agreed upon amount of time once the defendant pleads guilty and agrees to conditions given by the judge. Once the diversionary period has been successfully completed, the charge or charges can be expunged, provided the defendant returns to court to request an expungement.

• People with arrest and conviction records are routinely blocked from getting jobs, housing, and educational opportunities by federal, state, and local legal restrictions because of these records. Around the country, there are nearly 50,000 such legal restrictions. The federal Higher Education Act of 1998, for example, makes students convicted of drug-related offenses ineligible for any grant, loan, or work-study assistance. These restrictions contribute to high rates of rearrest and reincarceration of people who have been released from prison but subsequently have difficulty obtaining an education or finding housing or jobs.
  Those especially at risk of recidivism following their release from prison are individuals living with addiction. A 2011 study found that within three years of prison release, individuals living with drug or alcohol addiction had a recidivism rate of 45%.

Pursue the maximum aggravated assault class C felony charge, with a maximum sentence of 3 to 6 years.

• Incarceration does not cure mental illness. Incarcerating someone with a serious mental illness only ensures that they are not in the public view. When they are released back into the community, the likelihood of them re-entering the jail system is almost inevitable. With convictions disproportionately affecting poor people and people of color, these sentences are also exacerbating extreme racial disparities in the criminal justice system and tearing vulnerable communities apart.

Send the person to mental health court, where they can be evaluated, and then released to a program that focuses on treatment and management, while on intensive probation.

• The goal of diversion is to reduce or eliminate the time individuals with mental health, substance use, or co-occurring disorders spend incarcerated by directing them to community-based treatment and supports.
  People who suffer from untreated mental illnesses can stabilize with proper treatment and support. In addition, providing them with wrap-around mental health and supportive services is far more cost effective than incarceration — which almost guarantees recidivism.

Revoke probation and place the person back in confinement. Additionally, lengthen the sentence with the additional assault charge.

• Re-entry is a formidable challenge for individuals leaving prison. Not only must they adjust to freedom and an ever-changing society after years or decades on the inside, they must also contend with numerous legal barriers to rebuilding their lives. These barriers limit their access to housing, temporary support via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), higher education, and employment — barriers that increase the likelihood that even the most well-intentioned returning citizens could recidivate and re-enter the prison system.

Lengthen the probation  by adding additional time onto the probation for the assault charge and add additional requirements such as anger management classes and additional counseling services.

• Even though the probation officer would be the one responsible for reporting the violation of probation, once the district attorney receives the case, they have the ability to reinstate probation with added intensive conditions or to argue to revoke probation and send the person back to jail at a hearing. At the hearing, additional requirements such as consenting to random drug screens and not testing positive for any controlled substances could be imposed; or probation could be revoked, forcing the individual to serve the remainder of their sentence in custody. TDOC pays less per individual on community supervision than it spends per individual on incarceration.

Pursue the maximum Class C felony theft charge, which carries a sentence of 3 to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

• Drug addiction has become one of too many social problems that have been relegated to the criminal legal system. This band-aid approach of incarceration does not curb the use of controlled substances and certainly does not attempt to address any underlying factors driving addiction rates. The consistent factors linked to opioid prescription abuse include unemployment, poverty, and occupations with high rates of injuries. In counties like Unicoi and Hawkins — which experience some of the highest unemployment and opioid prescription rates in the state — a 10% increase in opioid prescription correlates with a 0.1% increase in overall county unemployment rates. Incarcerating someone for a lengthy period for a criminal act committed to support an addiction without consideration of the underlying problems driving the crime does not address the root causes of addiction, reduce the availability of drugs, or make our communities safer.

Charge them with the lowest misdemeanor offense, which would require them to pay restitution, and require intensive drug treatment as a condition for release, with additional ongoing counseling services to ensure further support throughout treatment.

Addiction to substances like drugs and alcohol can ruin a person’s life and leave them with no other options than to turn to crime to sustain their living and support their addiction. Helping them get the proper treatment they need, rather than confining them to jail, is the most efficient way to increase the likelihood they will be able to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.

Require the individual to complete traffic school and enter an outpatient facility for substance abuse to address the underlying issues leading to the need for drugs. Then dismiss their charges so their life and livelihood are not severely impacted.

• Diversion gives an individual a second chance to learn from their mistakes, reduces the likelihood they will reoffend, and increases their opportunities to achieve long-term success.

Pursue the maximum Class E felony charge for possession with intent to distribute, with a sentence of 2 years since this is a first-time offense.

• People with felony conviction records are routinely blocked from getting jobs, housing and educational opportunities by federal, state, and local legal restrictions because of these records. Around the country, there are nearly 50,000 such legal restrictions. The federal Higher Education Act of 1998, for example, makes students convicted of drug-related offenses ineligible for any grant, loan, or work-study assistance. These restrictions contribute to high rates of rearrest and reincarceration of people who have been released from prison.