SUFFOLK , ss. TRIAL COURT BRIGHTON DISTRICT COURT DOCKET Nos.9808CR1058 0008CR1408 0008CROS37 COMMONWEALTH ) ) v. ) ) GEORGE ANASTOS et al. ) ROXBURY DISTRICT COURT DOCKET Nos.0002CR6525 0102CR1609 COMMONWEALTH ) d v. ) ) ANDREW ADAMS et al. ) FINDINGS OF FACT AND RULINGS OF LAW On April 25, 2002 I held John O’Brien, the Commissioner of Probation, in civil contempt. He deliberately misled this court to believe that he was complying with certain conditions of drug testing to which he had agreed as a condition of this court granting him continuances of a show cause hearing, On April 25, I invited the Commissioner to restore the status quo ante by complying with the already agreed conditions. He flatly refused. His refusal was not predicated on the inability to comply but solely on his belief that this court has no authority to set the 1duration and condi to the Office of Community Corrections. The following are my findings of fact and rulings of law: BACKGROUND OF THESE CASES These cases involve probationers who are participating in drug courts, ‘The Brighton and Roxbury District Courts have established drug court sessions which are operated pursuant to the Trial Court Policy for Drug Court Sessions (attached hereto as Appendix A), The Brighton session began in June 2000 and the Roxbury session, called the Intensive Treatment Unit, in March of 1999. Drug courts are a national phenomenon which began in 1989. The first court ‘was in Miami, Florida, the result of a cooperative effort between the judiciary and then Dade County prosecutor Janet Reno. There are now over 1000 drug courts nationwide in operation ot the planning stages. There are 16 drug courts in Massachusetts and others in the planning stages. ‘The growth of this movement has been fostered by the Supreme Judicial Court. In 1995 the Court adopted a policy statement which declared: Every judge... should attempt to identify and appropriately respond to the indication of substance abuse by any party appearing before him or her...,where substance abuse is a factor in the behavior related to the case. At every stage of the adjudicatory process, courts should provide access to...referrals for screening, assessment and treatment for substance abuse. Shortly thereafter the Court adopted detailed Standards on Substance Abuse, including a very strong standard on ordering treatment in criminal cases. ‘The Brighton and Roxbury drug court sessions concentrate on the high risk offenders those with long records and substantial history of drug use, the very people who will break into businesses, cars, and homes and steal. They are placed into intensive court ordered and supervised treatment for at least one year. The components of these drug court sessions include community drug treatment, intensive case management by probation, frequent random drug testing, weekly judicial oversight, and the application in appropriate cases of graduated rewards and graduated sanctions. Drug courts have been highly successful nationally, See Dr. Steven