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(This article originally appeared in the Rapid City Journal.)
By Katie Brown, Journal staff
The first drug court in the state began in Sturgis last week, making South Dakota the last state in the nation to have at least one drug court established.
And it did not come easy.
"It was a lot of work by a lot of people," 4th Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich said.
Eckrich led the group of people structuring the drug court pilot program and attempting to get approval from the Legislature to establish it.
Eckrich said he was unsure why South Dakota was last in the nation to establish a drug court.
"I don't know that there's any particular reason for it," he said. "There have been different circuit judges across the state who have explored the possibility."
Eckrich said this year everything finally came together and the pilot program was established.
There was a push in the Legislature in 2006 for the establishment of a drug court program, but that bill died.
The 2007 Legislature passed a bill to set up drug court for the first time and provide $212,000 to finance it.
Additional funding for implementing the program came from a federal grant of $350,000 announced in July.
The first drug court in the nation began in Miami in 1989.
The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) said that today there are close to 2,000 drug courts throughout the country.
The NADCP also said an individual who has a severe drug addiction commits nearly 63 crimes a year whether those crimes are the drug abuse itself or crimes committed to obtain the illegal substance.
To stop that cycle of crime, the solution lies at the root: the addiction.
Cristi Habermann, coordinator of the Northern Hills Drug Court in Sturgis, said the program will help participants take responsibility for their actions and learn to deal with life without turning to drugs.
"Accountability is so important and dealing with the stresses of life," Habermann said. "It's hard to stay sober when you're dealing with stress."
She said drug court allows people to learn to deal with that stress in day-to-day life without drugs.
"They'll learn to cope with regular life more than they would in prison," Habermann said.
She said the programs in other communities were observed to decide how to design the Northern Hills Drug Court.
The drug court team modeled the program after the program in Gillette, Wyo., making some changes so it would best fit the needs of the 4th Circuit.
Northern Hills Drug Court is a pilot program that supporters hope will be replicated throughout the state.
Habermann said participants meet with the drug court judge at least once a week. They are screened for drugs at least once every 72 hours and must be employed at all times.
Last Tuesday, one man and one woman in a Sturgis courtroom became the first drug court participants in South Dakota.
4th Circuit Magistrate Judge Michelle Percy will preside over drug court.
"It's been said that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step," Percy said at the first hearing. "This is that step."
Percy advised the first two participants that there will be times when the program will be more difficult than serving a prison sentence.
"Every aspect of your life is going to be under a microscope," she said.
Although the program is designed to give offenders an alternative to prison time, it is not supposed to be easy.
Eckrich will not preside over drug court.
He said because he is a sentencing judge, it could be a conflict of interest for him to give personal advice to the drug court participants.
Eckrich said there may be times someone fails at drug court at which time he must be an objective judge and sentence the person properly. He said being as involved in the person's life as drug court judges must be might make objective sentencing more difficult.
Eckrich said drug court is unique in that the judge will offer advice, compliments and criticism on their addiction, as well as daily life.
"It's very personal," he said. "And that resonates with people."
For example, at Tuesday's hearing, Percy complimented both drug court participants on being dressed appropriately for court.
"Some of these people have never succeeded at anything and it's powerful to have someone tell you you're doing a good job," he said.
Drug court offers Eckrich and other 4th Circuit judges one more option when sentencing people.
"It's one more tool in our tool kit," he said.
Drug court will most often be used as a condition of probation. People must apply and be evaluated to be accepted into the program. They must willingly take part.
Eckrich said no judge will force someone to be in drug court. It will be an alternative to serving prison time.
An alternative that South Dakota Department of Corrections officials say will help battle drug addiction, a major problem in the state.
Michael Winder, state department of corrections information manager, said as of July 1, 19 percent of men and 34 percent of women in South Dakota prisons were serving time for drug-related offenses.
Even if they were not serving time for drugs, Winder said the majority of people serving time in South Dakota have chemical dependency issues meaning some level of addiction to alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two.
"We are encouraged by the establishment of a drug court (in South Dakota)," Winder said. "The issue of chemical dependency requires a multi-faceted approach throughout not only the criminal justice system, but in society as well."
The Northern Hills Drug Court will serve the 4th Circuit, which includes Meade, Butte, Lawrence, Perkins, Ziebach, Corson, Dewey and Harding counties, but participants must live within 40 miles of Sturgis to be involved and receive the level of treatment required by the program.
Habermann said drug court personnel will help those who live further than 40 miles from Sturgis find housing nearby while they complete the program.
"I would like to think that if this is successful, the rest of the state can take the techniques that have been successful for us and use them locally," Eckrich said. "As time goes on I'm sure we'll discover what works and what doesn't which is, of course, the whole idea behind a pilot project."
Contact Katie Brown at 394-8318 or katie.brown@rapidcityjournal.com.