Court Mandated Drug Treatment

DUI and alcohol abuse courts work in conjunction with drug courts in many states in an attempt to work with substance abusers with repeated DUI convictions, who have demonstrated an inability to control their substance abuse and their intoxicated driving behaviors.

Unlike drug court offenders, most DUI offenders do maintain stable employment, have family support and a stable home environment. Depending on the perceived severity of the addiction and the circumstances of the DUI, the drug treatment may be offered as an outpatient or after work program, allowing offenders to maintain employment and family support as they undergo needed drug treatment after a DUI.

Judges may determine that a lengthy period of immersive residential drug treatment may be required, and in severe cases may even mandate a lengthy period of sober or halfway housing. In most cases, participants who successfully fulfill the prescribed drug treatment obligations after a DUI arrest are not subject to additional prosecution; but a failure to follow the mandated treatment to its recommended conclusion will compel a retrial for the crime, and a re-sentencing in conventional court.

Again, clinical studies have shown the initial motivation for entering into a drug treatment program does not greatly influence the eventual success rates, and as such many reluctant participants in drug treatment after a DUI arrest may find that the period of drug treatment influences lasting behavioral change and sobriety.