Pinellas County Drug Court
Avoiding Conviction Through Drug Court Participation
Pinellas County's program consists of a specially designated courtroom that provides comprehensive substance abuse treatment for nonviolent offenders. Clients entering the drug court program through Pre-Trial Intervention, will have their charges dismissed upon successful completion and graduation from the Drug Court program. For those who enter Drug Court as a condition of probation, their successful completion will result in a avoiding a felony conviction. Some of our clients are thereafter eligible to have their criminal records sealed.
Watch our video to learn about the benefits of sealing a criminal arrest record.
Am I Eligible To Participate?
A defendant’s eligibility for Adult Drug Court (a.k.a. Drug Court) is often initially determined at the time the State Attorney’s Office files the formal "information" charging them with the offense. Clients then receive notice from the clerk of court reflecting their initial court appearance scheduled within the drug court division. However, we may be successful in petitioning to have clients transferred from a regular Pinellas County court division into the drug court by showing they would benefit from drug counseling or treatment.
You can enter Drug Court in one of two ways:
1. The first is through the Pinellas County State Attorney’s Office Pre-Trial Intervention program. For adults entering the Drug Court through Pre-Trial Intervention, the State Attorney’s Office will typically consider only first-time, nonviolent, third degree felons.
2. The second way defendants can enter Drug Court is as a condition of probation.
Cases that are not eligible:
However, any defendant can be disqualified from admission into Drug Court if they: have been designated for treatment as a habitual felony offender or violent offender under FPAA guidelines; have been previously convicted of a violent felony offense; have been convicted, regardless of adjudication, of arson; are in violation of conditions of controlled release; are in violation of conditions of parole; have current charge(s) that have resulted in serious personal injury to victim(s); or have a history of sales of controlled substances indicating profiteering.
Drug-Motivated Offenses can be eligible:
Although Drug Court is primarily focused on defendants charged with possession offenses, there may be limited occasions where other types of criminal charges are eligible. These include: Purchase of Drugs; Small sales of drugs where the facts indicate the seller is supporting a habit; Property Crimes or other felonies where the facts indicate the offense was drug related or influenced. Under these circumstances, the assistance of an experienced attorney may be effective in persuading the State Attorney's Office that although your conduct might typically not warrant drug court participation, your motivation to commit the original offenses, together with your positive attitude toward rehabilitation, otherwise justifies your entry into the drug court program.
Special Drug Court Program for Women & Prescription Drug Addiction
The Pinellas County Drug Court has recently received a major grant for the specific purposes of treating women with prescription drug addictions. If you are a female and have been charged with "Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud," "Doctor Shopping," or "Possession of a Controlled Substance without a Prescription" this new, additional, program may be of great benefit to you. The Pinellas County Adult Drug Court Collaborative employs a new method of counseling that is targeted to respond to the growing number of women offenders who find themselves a prescription drug addiction. If you are a woman charged with a drug offense who has a prescription drug addiction, we may be able to use this new program to achieve a positive result in your case.
Click here to read our blog article on this new Drug Court program for women.
How Drug Court Works
The treatment-based approach contained within Drug Court begins with a potential drug court participant receiving a substance abuse assessment by a licensed treatment provider. Our office can assist you in obtaining the assessment. Following this assessment, the provider makes a treatment recommendation to the Court.
The next step in this process takes place when the Judge determines eligibility and makes a formal offer to the defendant, providing him or her with the opportunity to participate in the Drug Court program. If a defendant refuses this offer, their case would then be transferred to another felony division for prosecution. However, when defendants voluntarily choose to enter Drug Court, the judge will order them to complete an appropriate outpatient or residential treatment level as determined by the Court. The Judge’s decision on which form of treatment to impose is made in large part based on the recommendation found within the original substance abuse assessment conducted by the licensed treatment provider.
During a person's participation in drug court, the judge conducts frequent judicial review hearings and urinalysis testing of participants in order to closely monitor the defendant’s progress in treatment. Based upon a participant’s success or setbacks, the judge will either confer rewards or sanctions.
Avoiding State Prison – Despite Your Past Record
Clients with significant prior criminal history records may avoid conviction and incarceration by successfully completing Pinellas County’s Adult Drug Court Program, despite guidelines called for within Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code (The Sentencing Guidelines) that otherwise dictated a mandatory State Prison sentence.
We Can Help
If you are currently facing a criminal charge within Pinellas County that is in some way drug related, you should contact our office for further details regarding this opportunity.
Call our office for a free consultation at (727) 578-0303
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