{"id":34450,"date":"2022-01-06T04:00:40","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T10:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=34450"},"modified":"2022-01-07T09:19:54","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T15:19:54","slug":"unintended-consequence-of-sq-780-may-impact-access-to-drug-treatment-courts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2022\/01\/06\/unintended-consequence-of-sq-780-may-impact-access-to-drug-treatment-courts\/","title":{"rendered":"Unintended consequence of SQ 780 may impact access to drug treatment courts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_34446\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-34446 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-1920x1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1-1620x1080.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Judge-Michael-Tupper-1.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Judge Michael Tupper sits at his desk at the Cleveland County Treatment Court. Tupper began his law career as a prosecutor in 2003 and began presiding over the treatment court in 2013. (Photo by Beth Wallis\/StateImpact Oklahoma)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 20px; border-radius: 6px; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.captivate.fm\/episode\/8ab2ddbd-e6c5-4f0a-a154-6efc00598c0f\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2003, now-Cleveland County District Judge Michael Tupper began his career as a prosecutor. As a \u201cyoung, fired-up crime-fighter,\u201d Tupper said the perception of drug and alcohol treatment courts had a connotation of being \u201csoft on crime.\u201d But during his time as a prosecutor, his understanding of treatment court began to shift dramatically.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was ready to go after the cartels and the drug pushers and the bad people. And as time went by and case after case was coming across my desk, I realized that I wasn\u2019t seeing these bad people,\u201d Tupper said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t seeing the cartels and the drug kingpins. I was seeing everyday people that are struggling.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tupper said once he learned about the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/addiction.surgeongeneral.gov\/executive-summary\/report\/neurobiology-substance-use-misuse-and-addiction\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">neuroscience of addiction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and saw how easily people got entrenched in the cycles of the criminal justice system, it changed him.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019ve had a front-row seat for 20 years of seeing people recover from addiction,\u201d Tupper said. \u201cWhen I get to go to treatment court and work with people who are doing something about their issues, and we\u2019re lifting people up and improving situations, yeah. It changes you. How could it not change you?\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><b>Treatment court: How it works<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tupper presides over the Cleveland County Treatment Court, a position he\u2019s held since 2013. The court has been in place since 2000 and serves as an alternative to prison for people who commit non-violent felony drug- or alcohol-related offenses in Cleveland County.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.odmhsas.org\/picis\/Documents\/SOW\/FY21%20Oklahoma%20Criminal%20Justice%20Programs%27%20Manual.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FY21 Oklahoma Criminal Justice Programs\u2019 Manual<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, treatment courts must use a team of professionals that include: a treatment court judge; a district attorney representative or prosecutor; a defense representative; a coordinator who oversees program operations; a service provider who supplies therapy sessions, case management and monitoring; and a community supervision provider who monitors participants outside the court, including conducting home and job visits.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Treatment courts are structured in phases that become progressively difficult. Once a team has determined a participant has progressed toward their treatment goals, the participant can move to the next phase. In Cleveland County, a participant must pass five phases before being eligible for graduation. Tupper said it can take between 14 months to two years to complete the program.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Tupper\u2019s court, all participants must sign a performance contract. They get regular substance testing \u2014 a missed appointment or positive drug test could mean disciplinary actions anywhere from an ankle monitor to dismissal from the program \u2014 regular appointments with counselors and case managers, group therapy and self-improvement activities. On top of weekly mandatory court hearings to check progress, the program is demanding, and not everyone meets those demands.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe usually have around 80% graduation rates, which is phenomenal,\u201d Tupper said. \u201cNot everyone gets there, unfortunately, and the ones who don\u2019t, we go through every step we can to try and change that behavior. [If] it\u2019s not changed, then they\u2019ll get terminated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_34434\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-34434 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-672x520.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-672x520.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-1920x1485.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-768x594.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-1536x1188.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-150x116.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-620x480.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021-1396x1080.jpg 1396w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/01\/Drug-Court-Stats-2021.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse releases a fact sheet showing several metrics for evaluating the outcomes of treatment court participants. (Graphic courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse)<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Statewide, drug treatment courts <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/content\/dam\/ok\/en\/odmhsas\/documents\/recovery\/criminal-justice\/FY21-Drug-Court-One-Pager.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">boast several impressive statistics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. According to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse \u2014 the entity overseeing the treatment court program \u2014 offenders released from prison are re-arrested at a rate about three times\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that of offenders who graduate from treatment court. Between entering treatment court and graduating, unemployment numbers for participants drop by nearly 95%. The percentage of children able to live with participants more than doubles and participants\u2019 average monthly income increases by 176%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Four recent bills have impacted drug offenses: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Oklahoma_Reclassification_of_Some_Drug_and_Property_Crimes_as_Misdemeanors,_State_Question_780_(2016)\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State Question 780<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which changed the classification of simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor and went into effect in July 2017; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SB 649<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which reduces enhanced sentences for certain repeat nonviolent felonies and went into effect in November 2018; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SB 793<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which removed life without parole as a sentencing option for convicted drug traffickers and lowered possible sentences for possession of certain drugs, and also went into effect that November; and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SQ 788<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which legalized medical cannabis and went into effect with the debut of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority online application process in August 2018.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/openjustice.okpolicy.org\/blog\/assessing-the-first-year-of-sq-780\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">analysis from the Oklahoma Policy Institute<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> revealed a sharp drop in the number of felony drug offenses and a substantial increase in misdemeanor drug offenses. One year after SQ 780 had taken effect, felonies for drug possession fell by 74.4%. Inversely, drug possession misdemeanors climbed by 166.3%.<\/span><\/p><p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-ICdIr\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Felony &amp; Misdemeanor Drug Offenses in Oklahoma\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/ICdIr\/2\/\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Interactive line chart\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var a in e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][a]+\"px\"}}}))}();<\/script><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jari Askins, the state administrative director of courts and former lieutenant governor, was a state representative in 1997 when she co-authored legislation to allow the state to tap federal matching funds for drug treatment court. The move expanded the reach and resources of the few existing treatment courts across the state, as well as added dozens of treatment courts in more counties.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Askins said while SQ 780 decreased Oklahoma\u2019s projected prison population as intended, one <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2019\/01\/10\/prosecutors-and-court-officials-disagree-on-reason-for-downturn-in-drug-court-participation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">unintentional consequence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was taking people out of consideration for drug treatment court. Because simple drug possession is now classified as a misdemeanor instead of a felony, and treatment court is for drug felonies, fewer people may get the opportunity for treatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The felony charge and accompanying prison sentence, Askins said, provided an incentive to choose drug court as an option, but the maximum punishment for a simple drug possession misdemeanor in Oklahoma is one-year imprisonment and a fine of $1,000. Even if Oklahoma had a misdemeanor treatment court system, taking the treatment court option would be a hard sell.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c[A felony charge] was the catalyst for people choosing to participate in and give drug court a try \u2014 rather as a diversion from prison,\u201d Askins said. \u201c[When SQ 780 went into effect], those judges that handled drug court were extremely worried about how their numbers would drop. Not because they were worried about numbers, but they knew that it meant there might not be the hammer to hold over people to encourage them to get this treatment.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if Oklahoma used misdemeanor drug treatment courts, it may be difficult to persuade offenders to go through a demanding and lengthy program like treatment court if the alternative is something like community service or a fine. Askins said figuring out how to pivot after SQ 780 has been challenging because the change from felonies to misdemeanors has \u201creally taken a shift in philosophy \u2014 a shift in understanding.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-ET11Z\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Drug &amp; Alcohol Arrest Trends in Oklahoma\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/ET11Z\/4\/\" height=\"423\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Interactive area chart\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var a in e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][a]+\"px\"}}}))}();<\/script><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As for arrests, by 2020, drug-related arrests dropped by 44% from where they had been in 2016, the year before the first of the three bills went into effect.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Askins said that drop might offer insight into how police departments are handling misdemeanor drug arrests.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMany law enforcement officers, it takes them more time to do paperwork on a misdemeanor where nothing\u2019s really going to happen,\u201d Askins said. \u201cAnd so, a lot of times, we are seeing a drop in the number of cases in that area.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another notable trend in Oklahoma\u2019s crime reporting data was the jump in drug offenses during the pandemic. According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/okcrimestats.osbi.ok.gov\/CRIME_TRENDS_BY_CATEGORY.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OSBI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which is updated monthly, drug violations and drug equipment violations spiked by 25% from 2020 to 2021 after remaining fairly steady for the preceding four years.<\/span><\/p><p><b>\u2018This was a chance\u2019<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Former Oklahoma lawmaker Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, used to push legislation aimed at reforming the state\u2019s criminal justice system \u2014 including authoring two bills in the \u201990s to expand drug courts. In 2014, he found himself in a treatment court after wrecking his car while driving under the influence in Cleveland County.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt is just miserable to walk up [to the podium during drug court hearings]. Say your name. Say the number of days [of sobriety], look at the judge,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cYou know, you used to fund the courthouse, fund the budget here. You\u2019re now standing in front of those guys.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hobson said he\u2019d been in every prison and most jails around the state when he used to be one of the lawmakers in charge of the corrections budget. Staying overnight in a jail cell, with \u201crubber shoes and a mattress and\u2026 nothing else,\u201d sharing the cell with a man who \u201cyelled and threatened\u201d him all night long, gave Hobson a new perspective on Oklahoma\u2019s criminal justice system. Staring down a potential prison sentence, he said, provided ample incentive to take treatment court \u2014 and his sobriety \u2014 seriously.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hobson said the stress of being president pro tempore of the Senate had led to things getting \u201cout of control\u201d with his alcohol use. While he\u2019d been to treatment centers before, sobriety never stuck. But since his time in the Cleveland County Treatment Court over seven years ago, Hobson has maintained his sobriety.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI do not say that [treatment court]\u2019s the reason I\u2019ve been able to stay sober \u2014 I don\u2019t know the reason. I just know I have,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cBut drug court was a very important part of it. And Judge Tupper and others, because of the way they dealt with me so professionally, I knew that this was a chance I should not screw up.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hobson was close to some other participants during his time in the program \u2014 the \u201ckids\u201d as he calls them, given he was usually decades their senior. He\u2019s stayed in touch with some, and he\u2019s seen others die of drug overdoses. He said the work done in treatment court doesn\u2019t stop at graduation. Sobriety for him still isn\u2019t automatic \u2014 it\u2019s a daily choice.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI have a motto now that I routinely follow every day. When you get up in the morning, you really have only two choices for that day: you can either have a good day or a bad day. And ever since drug court, on almost every day, that\u2019s how I start the day,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cI would love to go with some of my pals off to the Interurban [restaurant] and have some drinks at the bar and a steak and talk politics. [But if I do], I\u2019m not going to end up having a good day. So it keeps me sober to stay on that path of having a good day, every day.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><b>A \u2018no man\u2019s land\u2019: Criticisms of treatment court<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While some see treatment courts as helpful, others see them as problematic. Askins and Hobson see both: a vital lifeline with a proven track record, but with glaring issues lawmakers have yet to remedy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They point to the potential for a disparity of care in rural Oklahoma, where treatment courts may not have the same resources Oklahoma, Tulsa and Cleveland counties have. If you\u2019re going to commit a crime, Hobson joked, do it in a county with a good treatment court.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, 59 treatment courts serve 74 of Oklahoma\u2019s 77 counties. There are no treatment courts in the three panhandle counties: Cimarron, Texas and Beaver. And not all treatment courts, Hobson said, are created equal.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere\u2019s just huge voids in Oklahoma,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cIt\u2019s no man\u2019s land.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to the customizable structure of Oklahoma\u2019s treatment courts, much of the decision-making lies with two main actors: district attorneys and judges. District attorneys decide who gets to participate, and judges decide how lenient or strict to be during the program. While some judges may levy a relatively small penalty for a missed court hearing or failed drug test, judges have the authority to boot participants for failing to adhere to the program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aila Hoss, an attorney and professor at the University of Tulsa who specializes in health law, said drug treatment courts are a result of not having adequate, accessible healthcare for people with addiction disorders. Healthcare, Hoss argues, should not be predicated on being convicted of a drug felony.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBut what\u2019s the alternative, right? Burn it all down, cut it down, substantially invest in our healthcare system. And that takes courage,\u201d Hoss said. \u201cIt\u2019s way easier to spend $20 million on some problem-solving courts than is to be like, \u2018Oh, we actually have to think of a completely new model.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another criticism of treatment courts is the use of fees. Hobson said participants must pay thousands of dollars in fees, including to have their urine tested. He said he was privileged to be able to afford the fees, but not everyone can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c[Other participants] are not, by and large, college graduates, PhDs,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cThese folks come up hard. \u2026 A lot of them stand up alone and go out that door back to pretty tough environments, or nothing \u2014 headed back to under that bridge.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the criminal justice manual, \u201ctreatment services shall not be contingent on paying any required fee or copay.\u201d Judges also have the discretion to waive fees for participants.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hobson said getting the state to pay for court fees is a hard sell. When there are budget gaps at the capitol, increasing fees, fines and assessments on people dealing with drug and alcohol violations is \u201cone of the easiest ways,\u201d to fill them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s easy to sit there as a legislator, and the guy says, \u2018Right now we charge $20 for a drug test, all we\u2019re asking is to make it $22,\u2019\u201d Hobson said. \u201cBecause we have a million-dollar budget shortfall, so you say yes, because most of the public doesn\u2019t see the extra $2.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hoss said the public sees the continued stigmatization of substance use disorder as a \u201cmoral failing.\u201d People who use substances, she said, are looked at as \u201cundeserving of a better system.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cInvesting in folks with substance use disorder is so offensive to so many people,\u201d Hoss said. \u201cIf the goal is getting reelected or getting elected, it doesn\u2019t make sense for a lot of policymakers.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stigmatization, Hoss said, also creates major obstacles for more progressive drug policy, such as medication-assisted treatment and monitored use at safe consumption sites. Askins said while she sees how medication assistance can be \u201cextremely appropriate\u201d for \u201cvery, very high risk, highly addicted\u201d people, Oklahoma lacks resources to provide sufficient in-patient programs. The inability to address severe substance abuse disorder, Hoss said, is a problem.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHow do we create safe spaces for people who use drugs who may never make it to recovery, nor want to get to that point of recovery?\u201d Hoss said. \u201c[Are] there safe consumption sites, harm reduction strategies? And so this is where you get into the pushback of enabling the drug use.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><b>\u2018Show up, be honest and try\u2019<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Late in the morning on a Tuesday in December, Judge Tupper\u2019s treatment court met for another regular session. He began the hearing with the standard announcements: a reminder of the weekly running group and an upcoming Christmas drive-thru luncheon. But that day\u2019s proceedings featured something special \u2014 a participant was graduating from treatment court.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The graduate \u2014 who asked to remain anonymous because his conviction was removed from his record upon graduation \u2014 was asked the question Tupper begins all of these conversations with:\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat are your days of sobriety?\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The graduate answered he\u2019d been sober for 411 days. As his final requirement for graduation, he then read his petition to graduate in front of the court. He said he\u2019d pled into drug court in November of 2020 with a felony DUI and faced 5 years in the Department of Corrections if he failed the program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDrinking was a vicious cycle that kept me focused on self-centered behaviors with little regard for anything or anyone else,\u201d the graduate read. \u201cSobriety has opened my eyes and caused me to cherish and value these things once taken for granted. \u2026 It\u2019s important that I keep sobriety first in my life, because if I don\u2019t have it, everything that\u2019s dear to me can be lost. \u2026 With all that being said, I humbly ask to graduate from the Cleveland County Treatment Court program.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After applause, Tupper\u2019s official graduation announcement and receiving a card signed by his care team, the graduate was able to walk away with his 5-year prison sentence off the table and his continued journey through sobriety ahead of him. But before leaving, he gave some parting words for the participants sitting behind him:<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cShow up, be honest and try,\u201d the graduate said. \u201cMy advice to you is to please take this program and use it to stay sober and get in recovery. Because this is the time to do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2003, now-Cleveland County District Judge Michael Tupper began his career as a prosecutor. As a \u201cyoung, fired-up crime-fighter,\u201d Tupper said the perception of drug and alcohol treatment courts had a connotation of being \u201csoft on crime.\u201d But during his time as a prosecutor, his understanding of treatment court began to shift dramatically.\u201cI was ready [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":34446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"page-noFeature.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,16,1],"tags":[1230,919,762,763,1362],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34450"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34472,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34450\/revisions\/34472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}