Alameda County
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Leads Expansion of Drug Courts & Collaborative Courts Calendar
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced Tuesday the expansion of Drug Court as part of the Alameda County Superior Court’s Collaborative Courts calendar. “There is a growing body of evidence that shows public safety is improved when courts adopt best practices and a meaningful understanding of substance use disorders,” said Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.
Special to The Post
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced Tuesday the expansion of Drug Court as part of the Alameda County Superior Court’s Collaborative Courts calendar.
“There is a growing body of evidence that shows public safety is improved when courts adopt best practices and a meaningful understanding of substance use disorders,” said Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.
“The bottom line is Collaborative Courts work,” Price continued. “Here in Alameda County, and throughout the state, treatment courts are producing better outcomes than traditional criminal courtrooms. I’m looking forward to creating a dual diagnosis Court to further expand our commitment to justice with compassion.”
Starting this week, Felony Drug Court will now be heard every Monday. Because of the expansion of Felony Drug Court, all misdemeanor Drug Court cases have been moved to Thursdays.
“The additional days for the calendar became necessary as referrals to Felony Drug Court increased because of recent policy changes,” said Masanao Morimoto, who heads the DA’s Collaborative Courts and Diversion Programs Unit. “Those policies include revising the list of eligible offenses and abrogating the automatic exclusion of defendants with ‘strike’ priors from Drug Court.”
Also, arraignment and pretrial departments are no longer allowed to block referrals to Drug Court.
Instead, members of the Collaborative Courts & Diversion Programs Unit are tasked with assessing all referred defendants to determine if they are amenable and suitable for treatment.
All of these improvements were made in close collaboration with the Alameda County Superior Court, Alameda County Dept. of Behavior Health, the Alameda County Public Defender’s office and the Alameda County Probation Dept.
