Skip to main content

The Relative Influence of Legal Pressure on Outcomes in a Rehabilitation Aftercare Drug Court

American Journal of Criminal Justice volume 44, pages 727–745 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

The concept of legal pressure has been used in research to study the effect threats of increased punishment have on the rehabilitation trajectory of individuals with substance use disorders under community supervision. This study investigates how unequal legal pressures affect the chances of success for participants in a drug court-supervised rehabilitation aftercare program. Using bivariate and logistic regression analyses, we compare the successful program completion rates of individuals charged with felony- and misdemeanor-level offenses. Consistent with the legal pressure thesis, we find that clients under misdemeanor-level charges become more likely to fail probation than those under the threat of felony-level punishment upon transition to community aftercare. Moreover, the higher rate of failure in the lower legal pressure group is strongly associated with their failure to abstain from drug use during the outpatient phase of community supervision. A shift in legal pressure is thus identified as a potential dynamic risk factor in substance abuse aftercare. The implications for community supervision of offenders recovering from addictions are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Notes

  1. During aftercare, the substance categories most frequently found in positive drug tests for this population were amphetamines, benzodiazepines and opiates. Cocaine and alcohol were also common positive results.

  2. This wording comes from the HCCSCD Standard Operating Procedure document titled “Reentry Aftercare Program” (n.d.), p. 2.

  3. Parhar et al. (2008) describe a clear distinction between coerced and mandated (i.e., involuntary) treatment: under coerced conditions sanctions apply for non-compliance, while in the mandated treatment situation the offender is given no option. Mandated treatment is found to have a negative effect on compliance.

  4. Other, non-Hispanic racial categories in the county break down as: White, 6.6%, Black 0.8%, American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%, Asian alone 1.1%, and multiracial 0.4%.

  5. Bivariate correlations were inspected to ensure that multi-collinearity was not be a problem in these analyses; the full list of bivariate correlations is available upon request. Variance inflation factors were also examined for each model as an additional test of multi-collinearity, and no VIF estimate was found to be higher than 5.1, with an average VIF in the full model (4) of 2.56.

  6. The difference in outcomes among positive drug testers only was analyzed separately by chi-square test.

  7. This difference in program stay length is significant at the p < .10 level.

References

  • Anglin, M. D., Brecht, M., & Maddahian, E. (1989). Pretreatment characteristics and treatment performance of legally coerced versus voluntary methadone maintenance admissions. Criminology, 27(3), 537–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bahr, S. J., Masters, A. L., & Taylor, B. M. (2012). What works in substance abuse treatment programs for offenders? The Prison Journal, 92(2), 155–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belenko, S., Johnson, I. D., Taxman, F. S., & Rieckmann, T. (2018). Probation staff attitudes toward substance abuse treatment and evidence-based practices. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(2), 313–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B. S., O'Grady, K., Battjes, R. J., & Farrell, E. V. (2004). Factors associated with treatment outcomes in an aftercare population. The American Journal On Addiction, 13, 447–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. T., Paul, A. A., & Nieto, F. J. (2011). Impact of jail sanctions during drug court participation upon substance abuse treatment completion. Addiction, 106(1), 135–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coviello, D. M., Zanis, D. A., Wesnoski, S. A., Palman, N., Gur, A., Lynch, K. G., & McKay, J. R. (2013). Does mandating offenders to treatment improve completion rates? Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 44(4), 417–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulkerson, A. (2012). Drug treatment court versus probation: An examination of comparative recidivism rates. The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, 8(2), 30–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gainey, R. R., Steen, S., & Engen, R. L. (2005). Exercising options: An assessment of the use of alternative sanctions for drug offenders. Justice Quarterly, 22(4), 488–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennessy, J. J. (2001). Introduction: Drug courts in operation. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 33(4), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hepburn, J. R., & Harvey, A. N. (2007). The effect of the threat of legal sanction on program retention and completion: Is that why they stay in drug court? Crime & Delinquency, 53(2), 255–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hickert, A. O., Boyle, S. W., & Tollefson, D. R. (2009). Factors that predict drug court completion and drop out: Findings from an evaluation of Salt Lake County's adult felony drug court. Journal of Social Service Research, 35(2), 149–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiller, M. L., Knight, K., Broome, K. M., & Simpson, D. D. (1998). Legal pressure and treatment retention in a national sample of long-term residential programs. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 25, 463–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiller, M. L., Knight, K., & Simpson, D. D. (1999). Risk factors that predict dropout from corrections-based treatment for drug abuse. The Prison Journal, 79(4), 411–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiller, M. L., Knight, K., & Simpson, D. D. (2006). Recidivism following mandated residential substance abuse treatment for felony probationers. The Prison Journal, 86, 230–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inciardi, J. A., Surratt, H. L., Martin, S. S., & Hooper, R. M. (2002). The importance of aftercare in a corrections-based treatment continuum. In C. G. Leukefeld, F. M. Tims, & D. Farabee (Eds.), Treatment of drug offenders: Policies and issues (pp. 204–216). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klag, S., O'Callaghan, F., & Creed, P. (2005). The use of legal coercion in the treatment of substance abusers: An overview and critical analysis of thirty years of research. Substance Use & Misuse, 40(12), 1777–1795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klingele, C. M. (2013). Rethinking the use of community supervision. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 103(4), 1015–1070.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight, K., Hiller, M. L., Broome, K. M., & Simpson, D. D. (2000). Legal pressure, treatment readiness, and engagement in long-term residential programs. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 31(1/2), 101–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kras, K. R. (2013). Offender perceptions of mandated substance abuse treatment: An exploratory analysis of offender experiences in a community-based treatment program. Journal of Drug Issues, 43(2), 124–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurlychek, M. C., Wheeler, A. P., Tinik, L. A., & Kempinen, C. A. (2011). How long after? A natural experiment assessing the impact of the length of aftercare service delivery on recidivism. Crime & Delinquency, 57(5), 778–800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linhorst, D., Dirks-Linhorst, P., & Groom, R. (2012). Rearrest and probation violation outcomes among probationers participating in a jail-based substance-abuse treatment used as an intermediate sanction. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 51(8), 513–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowenkamp, C. T., Holsinger, A. M., & Latessa, E. J. (2005). Are drug courts effective? A meta-analytic review. Journal of Community Corrections, 15(1), 5–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowenkamp, C. T., & Latessa, E. J. (2004). Understanding the risk principle: How and why correctional interventions can harm low risk offenders. Topics in Community Corrections, Fall, 3–8.

  • Marlowe, D. B. (2010). Research update on adult drug courts. Need to know, December, 1–8. National Association of Drug Court Professionals. Washington, DC.

  • Marlowe, D. B. (2011). The verdict on drug courts and other problem-solving courts. Chapman Journal of Criminal Justice, 2(1), 57–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marlowe, D. B., Festinger, D. S., Foltz, C., Lee, P. A., & Patapis, N. S. (2005). Perceived deterrence and outcomes in drug court. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 23(2), 183–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marlowe, D. B., Hardin, C. D., & Fox, C. L. (2016). Painting the current picture: A national report on drug courts and other problem-solving courts in the United States. Alexandria, VA: National Drug Court Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLellan, A. T., Lewis, D. C., O'Brien, C. P., & Kleber, H. D. (2000). Drug dependence, a chronic medical illness. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 284(13), 1689–1695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. M., & Shutt, J. E. (2001). Considering the need for empirically grounded drug court screening mechanisms. Journal of Drug Issues, 31(1), 91–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Association of Drug Court Professionals. (1997). Defining drug courts: The key components. Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Association of Drug Court Professionals. (2013). Adult drug court best practice standards. Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, D. E., & Lurigio, A. J. (2000). Predicting probation outcomes: Factors associated with probation rearrest, revocations, and technical violations during supervision. Justice Research and Policy, 2(1), 73–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ormachea, P. A., Lovins, B. K., Eagleman, D. M., Davenport, S., Jarman, A., & Haarsma, G. (2017). The role of tablet-based psychological tasks in risk assessment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 44(8), 993–1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parhar, K. K., Wormith, J. S., Derkzen, D. M., & Beauregard, A. M. (2008). Offender coercion in treatment: A meta-analysis of effectiveness. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35(9), 1109–1135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patra, J., Gliksman, L., Fischer, B., Newton-Taylor, B., Belenko, S., Ferrari, M., Kersta, S., & Rehm, J. (2010). Factors associated with treatment compliance and its effects on retention among participants in a court-mandated treatment program. Contemporary Drug Problems, 37(2), 289–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perez, D. M. (2009). Applying evidence-based practices to community corrections supervision: An evaluation of residential substance abuse treatment for high-risk probationers. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 25(4), 442–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perron, B. E., & Bright, C. L. (2008). The influence of legal coercion on dropout from substance abuse treatment: Results from a national survey. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 92(1), 123–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, R. H., & Wexler, H. K. (2005). Substance abuse treatment for adults in the criminal justice system. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phelps, M. S. (2013). The paradox of probation: Community supervision in the age of mass incarceration. Law Policy, 35(1–2), 51–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prendergast, M. L., Greenwell, L., Farabee, D., & Hser, Y. (2009). Influence of perceived coercion and motivation on treatment completion and re-arrest among substance-abusing offenders. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 36, 159–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rempel, M., & DeStefano, M. D. (2001). Predictors of engagement in court-mandated treatment: Findings at the Brooklyn treatment court, 1996–2000. In J. J. Hennessy & N. J. Pallone (Eds.), Drug courts in operation: Current research (pp. 87–124). Binghampton, NY: Haworth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rempel, M., Fox-Kralstein, D., Cissner, A., Cohen, R., Labriola, M., Farole, D., et al. (2003). The New York State adult drug court evaluation. New York, NY: Center for Court Innovation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roll, J. M., Prendergast, M., Richardson, K., Burdon, W., & Ramirez, A. (2005). Identifying predictors of treatment outcome in a drug court program. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 31(4), 641–656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossman, S. B., Zweig, J. M., Kralstein, D., Henry, K., Downey, P. M., & Lindquist, C. H. (2011). The multi-site adult drug court evaluation: The drug court experience. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Justice Policy Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer, D. K. (2011). Looking inside the black box of drug courts: A meta-analytic review. Justice Quarterly, 28(3), 493–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sung, H., & Belenko, S. (2005). Failure after success: Correlates of recidivism among individuals who successfully completed coerced drug treatment. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 42(1), 75–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sung, H., Belenko, S., Feng, L., & Tabachnick, C. (2004). Predicting treatment noncompliance among criminal justice-mandated clients: A theoretical and empirical exploration. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 26(1), 13–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sung, H., & Richter, L. (2007). Rational choice and environmental deterrence in the retention of mandated drug abuse treatment clients. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 51(6), 686–702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tauber, J., & Huddleston, C. W. (1999). Re-entry drug courts [monograph series 3]. Alexandria, VA: National Drug Court Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taxman, F. (1998). Reducing recidivism through a seamless system of care: Components of effective treatment, supervision, and transition services in the community. Greenbelt, MD: Washington/Baltimore HIDTA Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (2014). Texas progressive interventions and sanctions bench manual. Austin, TX: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Community Justice Assistance Division.

    Google Scholar 

  • Texas Department of Criminal Justice Community Justice Assistance Division. (2015). Standards for CSCDs. Retrieved from TDCJ website https://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/publications/cjad/pubs_cjad.html. Accessed 30 June 2017

  • U.S. Census. (2016). 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year estimates. Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_16_5YR_CP05&prodType=table

  • Welsh, W. N. (2007). A multisite evaluation of prison-based therapeutic community drug treatment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(11), 1481–1498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, D., Warren, N., Simpson, D., & Limke, A. (2002). Reducing recidivism: Drug court as an effective alternative to incarceration. Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center.

  • Young, D., & Belenko, S. (2002). Program retention and perceived coercion in three models of mandatory drug treatment. Journal of Drug Issues, 32(1), 297–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Hidalgo County Community Supervision and Corrections Department and its staff, whose help and guidance made this project possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 West University Dr., Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA

    Bienvenido Ruiz & Ramon S. Guerra

  2. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, TX, USA

    Billy J. Ulibarrí & Arlett S. Lomelí

  3. Department of Sociology, South Texas College, McAllen, TX, USA

    Rolando R. Longoria

Authors
  1. Bienvenido Ruiz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Billy J. Ulibarrí
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Arlett S. Lomelí
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ramon S. Guerra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rolando R. Longoria
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bienvenido Ruiz.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ruiz, B., Ulibarrí, B.J., Lomelí, A.S. et al. The Relative Influence of Legal Pressure on Outcomes in a Rehabilitation Aftercare Drug Court. Am J Crim Just 44, 727–745 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-018-9465-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-018-9465-3

Keywords

  • Legal pressure
  • Aftercare drug court
  • Community supervision
  • Felony offender
  • Misdemeanor-level offender