Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 16 - PRACTICE, PROCEDURE, AND COURTS (§§ 16-1-101 — 16-131-206) › Subtitle 2 - COURTS AND COURT OFFICERS (§§ 16-10-101 — 16-24-101) › Chapter 10 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 16-10-101 — 16-10-1108) › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 16-10-101 — 16-10-144) › Section 16-10-139 - Specialty court program evaluation and approval - Transfer - Definition

(a)
As used in this section, "specialty court program" means one (1) of the following:
(1)
A pre-adjudication program under §
5-4-901
et seq.;
(2)
An approved drug court program under the Arkansas Drug Court Act, §
16-98-301
et seq.;
(3)
The Swift and Certain Accountability on Probation Pilot Program under §
16-93-1701
et seq.; and
(4)
Any other specialty court program that has been approved by the Supreme Court, including without limitation specialty court programs known as:
(A)
A DWI/BWI specialty court program;
(B)
A mental health specialty court program;
(C)
A veterans treatment specialty court program;
(D)
A juvenile drug court;
(E)
A "HOPE" court; and
(F)
A domestic violence specialty court program.
(b)
A specialty court program operated by a circuit court or district court must be approved by the Supreme Court in the administrative plan submitted under Supreme Court Administrative Order Nos. 14 and 18.
(c)
(1)
The Specialty Court Program Advisory Committee shall evaluate and make findings with respect to all specialty court programs operated by a circuit court or district court in this state and refer the findings to the Supreme Court.
(2)
An evaluation under this section shall reflect nationally recognized and peer-reviewed standards for each particular type of specialty court program.
(3)
The Specialty Court Program Advisory Committee shall also:
(A)
Establish, implement, and operate a uniform specialty court program evaluation process to ensure specialty court program resources are uniformly directed to high-risk, high-need offenders and that specialty court programs provide effective and proven practices that reduce recidivism, as well as other factors such as substance dependency, among participants;
(B)
Establish an evaluation process that ensures that any new and existing specialty court program that is a drug court program meets standards for drug court program operation under §
16-98-302(b)
; and
(C)
Promulgate rules to be approved by the Supreme Court to carry out the evaluation process under this section.
(d)
A specialty court program shall be evaluated under the following schedule:
(1)
A specialty court program established on or after April 1, 2015, shall be evaluated after its second year of funded operation;
(2)
A specialty court program in existence on April 1, 2015, shall be evaluated under the requirements of this section prior to expending resources budgeted for fiscal year 2017; and
(3)
A specialty court program shall be reevaluated every two (2) years after the initial evaluation.
(e)
(1)
(A)
On motion of a specialty court program participant, a specialty court judge who presides over a specialty court program may by written order transfer responsibility for supervision and specialty court program enforcement of the specialty court program participant's case to another specialty court judge with the consent of the other specialty court judge.
(B)
The specialty court program participant shall comply with the policies and procedures for the specialty court program to which the specialty court program participant's case is transferred.
(C)
The specialty court judge to whom the specialty court program participant's case is transferred may impose sanctions on the specialty court program participant, including without limitation the imposition of a period of incarceration and the requirement of inpatient treatment under the written policies and procedures for the specialty court program to which the specialty court program participant's case has been transferred.
(2)
(A)
If the specialty court judge to whom the specialty court program participant's case has been transferred determines that the specialty court program participant has successfully completed the specialty court program, the specialty court judge shall notify the transferring specialty court judge and request that the appropriate orders be entered in the specialty court program participant's case.
(B)
(i)
If after a specialty court program participant's case is transferred, the specialty court team recommends that the specialty court program participant be removed from the specialty court program, the specialty court judge shall enter an order returning the specialty court program participant's case to the transferring specialty court program.
(ii)
Upon return of the specialty court program participant's case to the transferring specialty court program, the specialty court judge shall determine an appropriate disposition of the matter.
(f)
(1)
(A)
If a specialty court program participant's case is transferred from a district court, all assessed fines, penalties, court costs, and fees other than those described under subdivision (f)(2) of this section shall be paid to the transferring district court, notwithstanding the provisions of §
16-10-141
.
(B)
The funds described under subdivision (f)(1)(A) of this section shall be disbursed as required under §
16-17-707
.
(2)
In accordance with §
16-10-141(b)(2)
-(7), the district court to which the case is transferred may assess and collect:
(A)
Treatment costs;
(B)
Drug testing costs;
(C)
A local specialty court program user fee;
(D)
Necessary supervision fees, including any applicable residential treatment fees;
(E)
Global Positioning System monitoring costs; and
(F)
Continuous alcohol monitoring fees.
(g)
(1)
If a specialty court program participant's case is transferred from a circuit court, all assessed fines, penalties, court costs, and fees other than those under subdivision (g)(2) of this section shall be paid to the transferring circuit court, notwithstanding the provisions of §
16-98-304
.
(2)
In accordance with §§
5-4-907
,
16-10-701
,
16-98-304
,
16-100-209
, and
16-101-104
, the circuit court to which the specialty court program participant's case is transferred may assess and collect:
(A)
Treatment costs;
(B)
Drug testing costs;
(C)
A local specialty court program user fee;
(D)
Necessary supervision fees, including any applicable residential treatment fees;
(E)
A fee determined or authorized under §
12-27-125(b)(17)(B)
or §
16-93-104(a)(1)
that is to be paid to the Division of Community Correction;
(F)
Global Positioning System monitoring costs;
(G)
Continuous alcohol monitoring fees;
(H)
Tuition and other educational fees for a vocational school, technical school, community college, or two-year or four-year public university that is part of the pre-adjudication probation program in which the specialty court program participant is participating; and
(I)
A specialty court program public defender user fee.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 58,§ 1, eff. 7/28/2021.
Added by Act 2015, No. 895,§ 15, eff. 4/1/2015.