Judge Abigail Bartlett praises graduates of a program designed to give people tools to rehabilitate themselves, ensuring a safer community

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Her voice cracks a bit when she discusses the success stories, the triumphs.

Judge Abigail Bartlett interacts with so many people at the lowest points of their lives.

Many feel at a loss, helpless. 

Yet, there is a path to victory. There is hope.

The DUI Treatment Court in Clark County is designed for those who have been arrested for driving under the influence on multiple occasions. They go through a program that is at least 12 months — usually longer — of intense therapy. They are held accountable. They must remain sober. They must remain lawful. Many are on house arrest, meaning they can go to work and go to therapy. Otherwise, they are at home.

“The court should not be a revolving door,” said Bartlett, a district court judge. “It should be a place where we’re addressing the why behind the conduct and helping with the why so that the conduct doesn’t happen again.”

Officially, the DUI Treatment Court’s mission is to increase community safety and reduce recidivism. 

“We do that by addressing the underlying issues that led to drug and/or alcohol addiction, which led to the criminal behavior,” Bartlett said.

Since the fall of 2017, there have been 41 graduates of DUI Treatment Court. That’s 41 people in Clark County who have been charged with DUIs on multiple occasions through the years. Of them, only two have reoffended with a new DUI charge in Washington state, according to data released by the Treatment Court.

Treatment Court is also a post-conviction court. There are no deals. Those who participate in Treatment Court are not doing so in order to get a charge wiped off one’s record. In fact, offenders who are sentenced to jail or prison must serve that first before entering Treatment Court. This is also a voluntary program.

“Jail could be a necessary tool, but jail does not fix addiction,” Bartlett said.

In order to graduate, one must complete all recommended levels of treatment. That might start with 30 or more days of in-patient treatment, followed by intensive outpatient treatment. Bartlett said that could include four days a week of group meetings, with more additional individual meetings.

Many participants are wearing ankle monitors, to ensure they are where they are supposed to be as well as monitor any alcohol consumption. All participants also must be available to provide samples for urinalysis tests any time, at random.

“Typically, our participants are going to multiple AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings as well, and then showing up to court on a regular basis, at least twice a month, so that the court can confirm you’re following through with these requirements,” Bartlett said. “It. Is. Hard.”

Those who complete the program feel like they have a fresh start in life.

“We’re dealing with people who have decades-long addiction,” Bartlett said. “One of the most important things I’ve learned from presiding over this court is that addiction is based on trauma, so we’re dealing with participants who’ve dealt with some of the toughest life experiences you can imagine, and they’re covering that with alcohol, they’re covering it with drugs.”

They are desperate for help.

“When they join our court, they may be at a point where they’ve lost their families, they’ve lost their children, they’ve lost their work, and we watch these participants voluntarily fight for their survival and their recovery to transform their lives,” Bartlettt said. 

The judge gets emotional when contemplating all that graduates have done in order to make the change.

“I’ve never seen people work harder than the participants in our court,” Bartlett said. “It’s so easy to continue to make bad choices, to not make changes in your life, to accept hopelessness. We see these participants choose something else. We’ve seen so many graduates with a sense of pride that I think they thought was never possible.”

Many graduates are reunited with their families, and they become gainfully employed. Most graduates are also part of the recovery community, so they continue bettering themselves even after leaving the program.

“Recovery is a lifelong journey,” the judge said.

The DUI Treatment Court is also a tool used by Target Zero, Washington’s state campaign with the mission to end all traffic-related fatalities on Washington’s roads and highways by 2030. In fact, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, which runs Target Zero, has funded electronic home monitoring systems for many of the DUI Treatment Court participants. 

Bartlett is proud of the Treatment Court’s accomplishments, and the large team of professionals working for the court. But, she said, most of the credit should go to the graduates themselves.

“It’s the participant who is doing the work,” Bartlett said. “We provide the highest level of supervision, support, and accountability, but we can’t make people change. They have to have the will and determination to do it. To see people put in that kind of fight, it’s just incredible.”

Team members at the DUI Treatment Court include: the presiding judge, Bartlett, and Sherry Ball, judicial assistant. Beth Robinson is the therapeutic specialty courts coordinator. Julie Senn is a program specialist. And Doug Wall is a probation services case manager. 

They work with the city attorney’s office and Jon Schetky, an assistant city attorney, and the county prosecutor’s office and Scott Ikata, deputy prosecuting attorney. And they work with defense attorney Brandon Campbell.

The court also has working relationships with treatment agencies Sea Mar Community Services Northwest and Lifeline Connections. Daniel Hartner is a treatment case manager with Sea Mar, and Dani Hansell is a treatment case manager with Lifeline.

“I can speak from personal experience, these people do care,” said Mack White, 32, of Vancouver and a recent graduate of DUI Treatment Court. “I promise you these people care. They just want to see you do better. They believe, in their heart, that you can do better. If they didn’t believe that, you wouldn’t be in that room.”

While the DUI Treatment Court does have a successful record, Bartlett did note that it does not work for everyone. There have been drop-outs. But there also have been people who have started, stopped, then started again and graduated.

Judge Bartlett cannot say enough about the ones who persevered and made it through the rigorous program.

“So many participants weren’t working, or they couldn’t hold down a job. Then, as they progress through our court, they’re working, they’re getting promoted,” Bartlett said. “We hear these stories from our participants. ‘My co-workers are proud of me. They’re really impressed with what I’m doing. I’m getting raises.’”

Dozens of multiple offenders, dealing with their trauma, learning to cope without alcohol or drugs, and understanding the value of driving sober. 

They represent the success stories of Clark County DUI Treatment Court. 

And, the judge points out, that makes Clark County safer.