Andrew J. Yawn

Montgomery Advertiser

A 1,604-case backlog of drug related cases is burdening the Montgomery County criminal justice system, according to District Attorney Daryl Bailey. To put that in perspective, the most recent drug case to come out of forensics is from April 2014.

In short, anybody arrested for drug-related charges would currently be waiting more than two years for a trial as evidence is processed.

“What you have are more cases going in than coming out,” Bailey said. “That has created quite a bit of a backlog. We’re more than two years behind. That causes quite a bit of problems for the criminal justice system.”

As more drug cases come in, the backlog increases. Should an offender plead not guilty and wait for a trial, any drug evidence must be analyzed at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences (ADFS) to conclusively prove the substance is what it was suspected to be.

The ADFS did not respond to several requests for comment, but neither Bailey nor Montgomery County Drug Court Judge Pamela Higgins blames ADFS for the backlog. Hamstrung by the state’s budget crisis and staff cuts, there is no surefire way to speed up the process at the department without a serious injection of state funds.

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Judge Higgins and Judge Jimmy Poole head the county’s voluntary Drug Court, a one-year program that can wipe the offense from the person’s record and allow that person to avoid jail. The only caveat is they must plead guilty and complete the program which costs $209/month and involves community service and random drug tests.

Besides getting drug offenders much-needed help, the program is supposed to take pressure off the ADFS, because after pleading guilty, no forensic evidence is needed. Each case that skips trial and goes to Drug Court is one more case off the backlog.

Unfortunately, only about 20 to 25 cases are currently in Drug Court.

“That’s not nearly enough,” said Higgins who is working to advertise Drug Court as a viable option.

For those caught in the two-year backlog, the problems can be found sandwiched between a slowed drug analysis program on one end and crowded prisons on the other.

Bailey said that most of the time, drug offenders make bail after being arrested and are allowed back on the streets while awaiting trial.

“The problem with that is that nobody has addressed the problem that you have. Obviously you have a drug problem. You’ve been arrested and put back on the streets with no consequences and no help,” Bailey said.

Mild drug users suffering from addiction or habitual use may not pose the largest threat to society, but it’s not only mild users making bond.

The backlog has also created a spike in violence as those involved in drug sales or trafficking are often involved in more violent crimes as well, according to Bailey.

“That’s a big driver of our crime rate, because all these folks who haven’t been through the court system are still doing, dealing and causing the problems,” Bailey said. “Almost every murder we have is related to drugs in some form or fashion.”

Besides keeping criminals on the street for two years, prosecutors are then tasked with finding witnesses and ensuring the case is still intact, another problem hindered by a lack of state funding.

Furthermore – and perhaps most troubling to Bailey and Higgins – the backlog keeps drug offenders from getting help, which Bailey and Higgins said is the ultimate goal.

“Our primary focus now is to get them help. We’re smart enough to know there’s no room in the prison for drug offenders and it really doesn’t do them any good in the long run,” Bailey said.

The recent illegalization of kratom, a previously legal herb sold in gas stations, doesn’t help matters. Although, Montgomery police said kratom has not been a criminal issue in Montgomery so far, one more illegal drug to test only adds pressure to the growing list of cases awaiting analysis.

Bailey and Higgins are both pushing defense attorneys to consider Drug Court for their clients to alleviate the logjam in the justice system.

Besides getting drug offenders much-needed help, it also takes pressure off the ADFS, because after pleading guilty, no forensic evidence is needed. Each case that skips trial and goes to Drug Court is one more case off the backlog.

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The drug offense being dismissed is another obvious perk, but Higgins said offenders often emerge changed for the better.

“When someone comes in, and drugs are a major part of their life, and they complete a year, they come out different people,” Higgins said. “To see them at the end clean, sober and having their life back, it’s a great feeling.”

The Department of Forensic Sciences has increased the amount of narcotic evidence processed over the past few months with Bailey calling the progress a “little uptick.”

Still, Bailey and Higgins would like to see more drug offenders in Drug Court, if not to reduce the backlog, then just to change offenders’ lives for the better.

“We really have a focus on treatment as opposed to punishment,” Bailey said.