Re: the August 16 guest opinion "Here's the truth about those sentenced to prison in Arizona."
In important ways, Pima County Attorney Barbara Lawall has proven to be a level-headed administrator who, during her long tenure, has supported a number of safe alternatives to incarceration at the adult criminal justice level, along with important juvenile justice reforms. But, one point of clarification on her Op-Ed piece seems in order. While Lawall may have played an important role in the establishment of Pima County drug courts (adult and juvenile), she did not develop the drug court program model. It is widely recognized that the first drug court began in the Miami Dade County (Florida) court back in 1989.
All drug court programs across the country that followed, to a greater or lesser extent, represent adaptations of the Miami model. While I am confident that Lawall did not mean to imply that she "developed" the drug court model, it seems important for readers to know where the model came from.
Gene Siegel
North side
