A New Day in Drug Court

July 6, 2006 -- -- Every Friday, 47-year-old Ron Gilbert decides the fate of dozens of hard-core addicts who come before his drug court in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. They're facing time behind bars for everything from drug possession to burglary. He is their last chance to avoid jail.

The goal of Gilbert's drug court is to divert offenders out of the criminal justice system and into a recovery program where they can stay clean and sober. Treatment rather than punishment.

"A pure addict, what are we going to punish them for? They have a disease. You punish a disease?" Gilbert says. "You have cancer, am I going to punish you because you have cancer? Addiction is a disease. So, by punishing a disease you don't help them one bit. We just create more people in jail that you and I are paying for that are getting nothing."

Luckily for the addicts struggling with substance abuse, Gilbert has an enlightened view of those who face him in the defendant's dock.

"When I was a public defender, one of the things that I did ... with my clients, I communicated at least on a level that I felt they could understand me," Gilbert said. "I talked their language. I never lost that. In this environment, that works for me."

Before court convenes, probation officers, attorneys and drug counselors discuss each case with Gilbert. The court accepts only 60 people at a time (there is a waiting list), and the staff come to know the offenders personally.

Beyond the court, Gilbert has had personal experience with addiction -- he helped a brother-in-law and a cousin struggle through legal and medical issues related to substance abuse.

"I've got some experience, as most people do," Gilbert said.

The court's program requires an 18-month commitment to stay clean of drugs and alcohol -- addicts are subject to random urine screening and must show up for court dates. They are required to attend group therapy and participate in 12-step programs like Alcholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.