{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-22-22-471.1","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 22-471.1","heading":"Authorization of drug court programs","body":"A. For purposes of the Oklahoma Drug Court Act, \"drug court\",\n\n\"drug court program\" or \"program\" means an immediate and highly\n\nstructured judicial intervention process for substance abuse\n\ntreatment of eligible offenders which expedites the criminal case\n\nand requires successful completion of the plea agreement.\n\nB. Each district court of this state is authorized to establish\n\na drug court program pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Drug\n\nCourt Act, subject to availability of funds.\n\nC. Eligible offenses may be restricted by the rules of the\n\nspecific drug court program. Nothing in the Oklahoma Drug Court Act\n\nshall be construed to require a drug court to consider every\n\noffender with a treatable condition or addiction even if the\n\ncontrolling offense is eligible for consideration in the program.\n\nTraditional prosecution shall be required where an offender is\n\ndetermined not appropriate for the drug court program. Juvenile\n\ndrug courts may be established based upon the provisions of the\n\nOklahoma Drug Court Act; provided, however, a juvenile shall not be\n\nheld, processed, or treated in any manner which violates any\n\nprovision of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes.\n\nD. Drug court programs shall require a separate judicial\n\nprocessing system differing in practice and design from the\n\ntraditional adversarial criminal prosecution and trial systems.\n\nWhenever possible, a drug court team shall be designated consisting\n\nof a judge to preside over the drug court judicial process and hold\n\nproceedings where participants are advanced through the program, a\n\ndistrict attorney, a defense attorney, a drug court coordinator, and\n\nother persons designated by the drug court team who shall have\n\nappropriate understanding of the goals of the program and of the\n\nappropriate treatment methods for the various conditions. The\n\nassignment of any person to the drug court team shall not preclude\n\nthe assigned person from performing other duties required in the\n\ncourse of their office or employment. The chief judge of the\n\njudicial district, or if the district has more than one chief judge\n\nthen the presiding judge of the Administrative Judicial District,\n\nshall designate one or more judges to preside over cases assigned to\n\nthe drug court program. The assignment of any judge to a drug court\n\nprogram or the designation of a drug court docket shall not mandate\n\nthe assignment of all substance abuse-related cases to the drug\n\ncourt docket or the program; however, nothing in the Oklahoma Drug\n\nCourt Act shall be construed to preclude the assignment of all\n\ncriminal cases relating to substance abuse or drug possession as\n\nprovided by the rules established for the specific drug court\n\nprogram. Judicial immunity shall extend to any duty required by law\n\nto be performed by a judge of a drug court.\n\nE. When a drug court program is established, the arresting\n\nofficer shall file the criminal case record for potentially eligible\n\noffenders with the district attorney within four (4) days of the\n\narrest. The district attorney shall file an information in the case\n\nwithin twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of the criminal case record\n\nwhen the offender appears eligible for consideration for the\n\nprogram. The information may be amended as necessary when an\n\noffender is denied admittance into the drug court program or for\n\nother purposes as provided in Section 304 of this title. Any person\n\narrested upon a warrant for his or her arrest shall not be eligible\n\nfor the drug court program without the approval of the district\n\nattorney. Any criminal case which has been filed and processed in\n\nthe traditional manner shall be cross-referenced to a drug court\n\ncase file by the court clerk if the case is subsequently assigned to\n\nthe drug court program. The originating criminal case file shall\n\nremain open to public inspection. The judge shall determine what\nfor the drug court program without the approval of the district\n\nattorney. Any criminal case which has been filed and processed in\n\nthe traditional manner shall be cross-referenced to a drug court\n\ncase file by the court clerk if the case is subsequently assigned to\n\nthe drug court program. The originating criminal case file shall\n\nremain open to public inspection. The judge shall determine what\n\ninformation or pleadings are to be retained in the drug court case\n\nfile, which shall be closed to public inspection.\n\nF. The court may request assistance from the Department of\n\nMental Health and Substance Abuse Services which shall be the\n\nprimary agency to assist in developing and implementing a drug court\n\nprogram or from any state or local agency in obtaining the necessary\n\ntreatment services which will assure maximum opportunity for\n\nsuccessful treatment, education and rehabilitation for offenders\n\nadmitted to the program. All participating state and local agencies\n\nare directed to coordinate with each other and cooperate in\n\nassisting the district court in establishing a drug court program.\n\nG. Each drug court program shall apply recognized best\n\npractices including but not limited to:\n\n1. Strong linkage between participating agencies;\n\n2. Access by all participating parties of a case to information\n\non the progress of the offender;\n\n3. Vigilant supervision and monitoring procedures;\n\n4. Random substance abuse testing;\n\n5. Provisions for noncompliance, modification of the treatment\n\nplan and revocation proceedings;\n\n6. Availability of residential treatment facilities and\n\noutpatient services;\n\n7. Payment of court costs, treatment costs, supervision fees\n\nand program user fees by the offender;\n\n8. Methods for measuring application of disciplinary sanctions\n\nincluding provisions for:\n\na. increased supervision,\n\nb. urinalysis testing,\n\nc. intensive treatment,\n\nd. short-term confinement not to exceed five (5) days,\n\ne. recycling the offender into the program after a\n\ndisciplinary action for a minimum violation of the\n\ntreatment plan,\n\nf. reinstating the offender into the program after a\n\ndisciplinary action for a major violation of the\n\ntreatment plan, and\n\ng. revocation from the program; and\n\n9. Methods for measuring performance-based effectiveness of\n\neach individual treatment provider's services.\n\nH. All drug court programs shall be required to keep reliable\n\ndata on recidivism, relapse, restarts, sanctions imposed and\n\nincentives given.\n\nI. All funds received by a drug court, in its capacity as a\n\ndrug court program, shall be credited to and accounted for in the\n\ncounty treasurer's office in a special cash fund to be known as the\n\n\"Drug Court Fund\". Each drug court fund shall be a continuing fund,\n\nnot subject to fiscal year limitations, and shall be dedicated to\n\nthe operation of the drug court as authorized by law. The\n\nexpenditures of any funds received by a drug court program and\n\ndeposited with the county treasurer shall be made only upon sworn\n\nitemized claims approved by the county clerk, filed with the county\n\ntreasurer and paid by cash voucher drawn by the county treasurer\n\nfrom the funds.\n\nJ. Nothing in this section shall prohibit any county from\n\nestablishing a drug court for misdemeanor offenses. Such\n\nmisdemeanor drug courts shall follow the rules and regulations of\n\nfelony drug courts except that the penalty for revocation shall not\n\nexceed one (1) year in the county jail or the maximum penalty for\n\nthe misdemeanor allowed by statute, whichever is less. The\n\nDepartment of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services shall\n\nprovide technical assistance to the counties that establish\n\nmisdemeanor drug courts.","path":["OK Code","Title 22"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os22.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"dfd5c97fd8ecab474e59b74cf5d61e53e6b0a0a2e5d940accd76a1a05ea0f350","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-22-22-471","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-22-22-471.10"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}