Oklahoma § 22-471.4 - Eligibility criteria - Investigation

§ 22-471.4. Eligibility criteria - Investigation

A. Each drug court team shall develop agreed-upon, objective

eligibility criteria to determine presumptive drug court eligibility

for offenders. The objective criteria shall be in writing and

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 22. Criminal Procedure

communicated to potential referral sources including but not limited

to judges, law enforcement, defense attorneys, prosecutors,

treatment professionals, and community supervision officers. The

criteria shall target high-risk and high-need offenders who are

addicted to illicit drugs or alcohol and who are at a substantial

risk for reoffending or failing to complete a less intensive case

disposition such as standard probation or pretrial supervision.

B. When the drug court judge, district attorney, defense

attorney, drug court coordinator, treatment provider, or any other

drug court team member determines that further investigation of the

offender under consideration is appropriate, the supervising staff

for the drug court program shall make an investigation to determine

whether the offender is a person who:

1. Is presumptively eligible for the drug court program;

2. Would benefit from the drug court program; and

3. Is appropriate for the drug court program and there is not a

more appropriate less restrictive treatment alternative based upon

the risk and need levels of the offender.

C. The drug court investigation shall be conducted through a

standardized screening test and personal interview. A more

comprehensive assessment may take place at the time the offender

enters the treatment portion of the program and may take place at

any time after placement in the drug court program. The

investigation shall determine the original treatment plan which the

offender will be required to follow, if admitted to the program.

Any subsequent assessments or evaluations by the treatment provider,

if the offender is admitted to the program, may be used to determine

modifications needed to the original treatment plan. The

investigation shall include, but not be limited to, the following

information:

1. The person's age and physical condition;

2. Employment and military service records;

3. Educational background and literacy level;

4. Community and family relations;

5. Prior and current drug and alcohol use;

6. Mental health and medical treatment history including

substance abuse treatment history;

7. Demonstrable motivation; and

8. Other mitigating or aggravating factors.

D. The drug court investigation may be conducted before or

after the initial hearing for consideration but shall occur before

the hearing for final determination of eligibility for the drug

court program. When an offender is appropriate for admittance to

the program, the supervising staff shall make a recommendation for

the treatment program or programs that are available in the

jurisdiction and which would benefit the offender and accept the

offender. The investigation findings and recommendations for

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 22. Criminal Procedure

program placement shall be reported to the drug court judge, the

district attorney, the offender, and the defense attorney prior to

the next scheduled hearing.

E. The district attorney and the defense attorney for the

offender shall independently review the findings and recommendations

of the drug court investigation report. For an offender to remain

eligible for consideration in the program, both the district

attorney and the defense attorney shall negotiate the terms of the

written plea agreement with all punishment provisions specified

prior to the scheduled hearing date for determining final

eligibility. Upon failure of the district attorney and defense

attorney to negotiate the written plea agreement, the judge

presiding over the case may order the criminal case to be withdrawn

from the drug court program and processed in the traditional manner.

The punishment provisions of the written plea agreement shall

emphasize reparation to the victim, community, and state. If the

crime for which the offender is seeking eligibility to drug court

involves a victim, notification to the victim shall be in compliance

with subsection A of Section 34 of Article II of the Oklahoma

Constitution and the Oklahoma Victim's Rights Act, Section 142A et

seq. of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and shall include the

right to provide victim's impact statements.

F. The hearing to determine final eligibility shall be set not

less than three (3) work days nor more than seven (7) work days from

the date of the initial hearing for consideration, unless extended

by the court.

G. The drug court coordinator shall keep a record of all

presumptively eligible offenders who are not placed in the drug

court program. The record shall indicate the reason each offender

was not placed in the program and information about the ultimate

case disposition for each offender. The record shall be made

available to all members of the drug court team.

H. For purposes of Section 471 et seq. of this title,

"supervising staff" means a Department of Corrections employee

assigned to monitor offenders in the drug court program, a state,

county, or municipal governmental representative, a certified

treatment provider participating in the program, or a CLEETcertified person designated by the drug court program to perform

drug court investigations.

Added by Laws 1997, c. 359, § 5, eff. July 1, 1997. Amended by Laws

2018, c. 253, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2018; Laws 2022, c. 277, § 4.