New Drug Court Promotes Treatment : Law: County begins alternative approach to narcotics cases, seeking to keep users out of jail.

For a minute, Barry Klopfer sounded more like a social worker than a municipal court judge Tuesday.

*

“The primary desire is to get clean and stay clean,” he told four drug users seated before him in the newly formed drug court--Ventura County’s latest effort to send addicts to treatment instead of jail.

Some defendants, scattered throughout Courtroom No. 23 in the Hall of Justice, moved uneasily in their seats as Klopfer told them they were required to plead guilty before entering the program. All four agreed to do so--knowing that if they didn’t they would spend 90 days to a year in jail.

This is the atmosphere inside the drug court, which opened Tuesday after two years of planning and debate.

Instead of meting out jail time, the judge talks of meeting lawbreakers halfway. Instead of demanding punishment, the prosecutor urges criminals to stay clean. And instead of blaming others for their misdeeds, defendants say they want to come to grips with their problems.

Sixty addicts will eventually participate in the intervention program designed to keep them off drugs and out of jail.

Under the setup, drug users with no history of serious crimes can have convictions thrown out if they stay in treatment for a year and get jobs.

Unlike other courtrooms, the attorneys aren’t the only ones with a voice. Also present and advising the judge are substance-abuse counselors and probation officers.

*

The start of the program had been delayed because county officials from different agencies could not agree on how to structure it. The first sticking point came when prosecutors and the court insisted that addicts plead guilty before being allowed to enter the program. Later, negotiations broke down when prosecutors insisted that addicts be kicked out if they test positive for drugs three times during the year or once in the final 90 days of the program.

Although those problems were resolved, Tuesday’s opening of the court revealed some new glitches.

For example, no one told the defendants that, before showing up at drug court, they first needed to be screened by probation officials. That will now be done later this week, said Klopfer, who oversees the drug court.

Klopfer attributed the problem to one of many “rough spots” still being worked out within the young intervention program.

*

The judge also warned the four applicants of the serious commitment the program requires.

“The decision to put yourself into drug court is not a decision to take lightly,” Klopfer cautioned.

The opening of the court brought smiles to administrators around the county courthouse, many of whom have debated the concept for the past two years.

The county’s top courts administrator, Sheila Gonzalez, and head public defender, Kenneth I. Clayman, were among those who sat through part of the morning court session.

“It was a culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people,” said Clayman, who fought against the requirement that forced defendants to plead guilty to participate. “Even the first day, one could observe that the approach that was being taken was very helpful because people who are drug-free won’t resort to criminality.”

“It’s been a long gestation period to get it up and going, but we’re here,” said Assistant Courts Executive Officer Florence Prushan, whose boss, Gonzalez, introduced the idea of a drug court to the county.

*

Prushan and others said no extra money has been allocated to run the court. For the time being, agencies from the county Probation Department to the Sheriff’s Department and others have donated staffing and other resources to make it work, Prushan said.

The program consists of three phases. The first phase involves orientation, the second phase--and longest--treatment, and the third phase, transition out of the program.

In recent months, Klopfer tried to work out kinks in the program by conducting an experimental drug court with about 40 other defendants. Many of the defendants have reported staying clean, although some have relapsed.

That is the case with a 22-year-old Oxnard man, who failed a drug test taken April 6. On Tuesday, Klopfer ordered him back to court next week, so officials can determine whether he has flunked any subsequent drug tests. The man said he uses methamphetamine.

In court, Klopfer told the jittery defendant that he can expect to serve his 120-day jail sentence with any further slip-ups.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to get honest and stay honest,” Klopfer told the defendant. “Ultimately, I don’t care about you lying to me because you can’t hurt me. But you can hurt the hell out of you.”

Outside court, the man said he planned to stay away from drugs, but that he will need some help--such as the incentive the court has provided him.

*

“I think that this judge here is the more understanding judge I’ve had,” said the man. “I first got into trouble when I was 17, and I’ve been in and out of court at least 10 times. He (the judge) seems to care about what the person needs in contrast to getting the person out of the way and getting them arrested.”

After adjourning court, Klopfer expressed hope during an interview that the program will help addicts stay clean.

“What I am hoping to see is people who are committed in their minds to say, ‘I want this to be the last arrest. I’ve had enough,’ ” the judge said.