Drug Court

Circuit Court for Baltimore City – Drug Treatment Program Brochure 
Adult Drug Treatment Court Referral Form
Policy for Treatment Provider Partnerships With Adult Drug Treatment Court 

Kara Martinez, Drug Court Coordinator 
Mitchell Courthouse
100 N. Calvert Street, Room 131
Baltimore, MD 21202
Telephone:  (410) 361-9467  
Fax:  (410) 361-9468
Email: kara.martinez@mdcourts.gov

The Circuit Court for Baltimore City Adult Drug Treatment Court (DTC) is a coalition of public, private and non-profit agencies that provide intensive supervision, substance abuse treatment and comprehensive judicial monitoring to offenders whose crimes are non-violent and related to substance abuse.  In addition to providing varying levels of treatment to defendants, the Drug Courts are also challenged to address the issues of addiction from a holistic approach by providing vocational, educational, and life skills training and other services to address issues that contribute to substance abuse and criminal behavior.  These supportive services assist Drug Court participants to bring about meaningful behavior and lifestyle changes to facilitate their integration back into a healthy community.

The mission of the  Circuit Court for Baltimore City Adult Drug Treatment Court is to increase public safety in Baltimore City through timely intervention and comprehensive treatment of substance abuse offenders; to provide for the rehabilitation of these individuals; and to “break the cycle” of recidivism. To attain its mission, DTC strives to reach the following goals:

1. Enhance public safety.
2. Provide nonviolent offenders, who have been assessed as drug-dependent, fully integrated and comprehensive substance abuse treatment services with close criminal justice supervision and judicial monitoring.
3. Provide a cost-effective alternative to incarceration for non-violent criminal defendants whose crimes are drug related, freeing valuable incarceration resources for violent offenders, and reducing the average length of pre-trial jail time.
4. Provide resources and support to assist the drug dependent offender in obtaining skills necessary for the maintenance of sobriety.
5. Reward positive life changes while maintaining accountability for negative conduct.
6. Rehabilitate drug offenders to be productive, self-sustaining members of society.

Defendants may be referred to DTC by the State, defense attorneys, and the bench.  All persons referred to DTC are screened for eligibility and must meet the following criteria:

1. Be 18 years or older
2. Be a resident of Baltimore City
3. Show indication of serious and chronic substance abuse
4. Not be on parole at the time of the offense(s) referred or at the time of the plea into DTC
5. Have no open cases in any jurisdiction other than Baltimore City
6. Not be on probation unless the Circuit Court judge to whom the defendant is on probation agrees to transfer the supervision of that probation to DTC or; if a District Court probation, the judge agrees to hold any violation of probation in abeyance unless the defendant has been terminated from DTC because of a violation of probation.

The eligibility vetting process also includes a review of an individual’s criminal history.  Defendants convicted of the following types of crimes are automatically ineligible for referral to DTC unless the conviction occurred at least ten years before the date of the current offense and any sentence was completed at least five years before the date of the current offense.  Cases that have second degree assault and burglary convictions will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

• Murder and Manslaughter
• Rape
• Abduction or kidnapping
• First Degree assault or other serious violent crimes
• Sex offenders in the first, second, or third degree
• Child Abuse (Physical or sexual)
• Handgun
• Armed Robbery and other cases involving handguns
• Robbery
• Arson