Structure/Model | Eligibility Criteria
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Structure / Mode

Overview

The entire team and staff of the Baton Rouge City Sobriety Court program are dedicated to changing the behavior of repeat DWI offenders who have been arrested two or more times for the offense of DWI and others DWI offenders desiring to make a life change. The history of DWI courts have proven to be a highly successful method of dealing with repeat DWI offenders within a community, reducing the number of repeat offenders, and reducing impaired driving accidents and fatalities.

Baton Rouge City Sobriety Court is modeled after the highly successful Drug Court concept with graduated sanctions and rewards system and adheres to “The Ten Guiding Principles of DWI Courts, adopted by the National Drug Court Institute. Statistics show that the rate of recidivism after completing a Sobriety Court program is greatly reduced due to the high level of accountability while participating in the program. Participants are twenty percent less likely to re-offend. An initial requirement for acceptance is that an offender must enter a guilty plea in his or her DWI case. At that time, they are placed on probation for a minimum of one year, required to comply with all terms, conditions and requirements of the Sobriety Court program. Participants must also comply with the minimum statutory requirements of City of Baton Rouge Code of Ordinances Section 11:140.

Staffing and Participant’s Progress

Each participant’s progress will be reported to the entire Sobriety Court team through weekly team staffing meetings held prior to the status conference court proceeding. Detailed status reports are prepared and copied for the Judge and all team members to review as a part of the staffing process. A review of their treatment and overall program status will be discussed, along with any program violations and recommendations. The judge approves all rewards and sanctioning.

Financial Requirements

Offenders may be required to satisfy a portion of costs associated with the program, including an initial $50.00 application/assessment fee and $ 50.00 monthly compliance fees. Such fees may be waived by the Judge during the participation period based upon successful compliance and advancement among the phases. This program of rewards and sanctions has therapeutic benefits, allowing participants to be empowered having a sense of ownership through their steps of sobriety and recovery.