| Law Enforcement/Courts&Corrections (LECC)
chaired by Aaron Podhurst, Partner, Podhurst, Orseck Josefsberg.
- Other LECC chairs over the last ten years are: David Weaver and Dorothy
Weaver.
One of the first strategies for LECC was to insure that South Florida received a
designation as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) which would bring
additional resources to South Florida’s federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies.
Members of the Executive Committee met with The Office of National Drug Control
Policy (ONDCP) and other federal representatives to make the case for a South Florida HIDTA
designation.
According to General McCaffrey, our HIDTA is the best in the nation and
provides an exceptional standard of interagency cooperation.
Doug Hughes, HIDTA Director, is recognized for his outstanding work in the area.
- That level of interagency cooperation was again evident in the creation of the Miami
Drug Court, the first such court in the nation. It is currently replicated in over 280
American cities.
All had to agree on a process that allowed first time drug offenders to receive
treatment rather than incarceration.
Involved were the Public Defender’s office, the State Attorney’s office, the
11th Circuit Judiciary, the Court System, the public and private providers,
etc.
The Drug Court’s success is due to the hard work of many people. The first and only
judge of the Drug Court, Judge Stanley Goldstein, is retiring in December,1998. The
Coalition recognizes his work.
- The Law Enforcement/Courts & Corrections (LECC) task force has actively
supported many legislative efforts such as the Evelyn Gort bill,
maintenance of the asset forfeiture statutes, etc.
- We applaud those efforts that demonstrate to the residents of our 31 municipalities that
success can not be achieved by law enforcement alone, but by cooperative actions. These
projects and programs include: Operation NEON, TNT, Weed & Seed, COPS, DARE,
GREAT, GRASP, etc.
- The Law Enforcement/Courts & Corrections (LECC) Committee sponsored and endorsed
an Outward Bound experiment f or individuals coming out of drug
treatment. The participants spent a week in the Florida Everglades canoeing in
bug-infested water, facing alligators, sounds unheard of, tipped boats, and overcame all
of them and other obstacles without using drugs. Because of that experience and what has
been learned about the continued success for the participants, more trips are planned this
year. J.B. Grossman is recognized for his leadership in this creative
venture.
- The Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC), with its integrated system for
the assessment and accurate placement of the 22,000 juveniles arrested each year in
Miami-Dade County, has been a long-time goal for the Law Enforcement/Courts &
Corrections and it is now a reality. The JAC will get stronger with the help and support
of all of us.
- The Law Enforcement/Courts & Corrections Committee will continue to work with and
assist our federal, state and local agencies - police, prosecutors, public defenders,
judges, corrections and court administrators, as we continue to reduce drug use.
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