1989 as a response to the growing crack cocaine problem plaguing the city. Chief Judge Gerald Wetherington, Judge Herbert Klein, then State Attorney Janet Reno, and Public Defender Bennett Brummer designed the court for nonviolent offenders to receive treatment. In the United States, according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, as of December 31, 2014, there are 3,057 drug courts representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, and various tribal regions. Effectiveness in the United States Drug courts are often touted as the single most successful intervention in US history for leading people struggling with serious addiction out of the justice system and into lives of health and long-term recovery. One study shows that 70% of those who are sent to prison rather than a drug court return to drug use following release. Oftentimes, drug courts are the only avenue for entry into treatment in the United States for those who do not have sufficient financial resources to pay for their own treatment. While the average national completion rate for drug court participants in one study was nearly 60% (two-thirds higher than probation and more than twice the rate of probationers with severe substance use disorders) different courts will show different outcomes. There is also some evidence of reduced recidivism through drug courts. Drug courts are a relatively new form of sanction in the justice system with roots that date back to earlier centuries. Drug courts are meant to keep offenders in the community instead of in jail or prison. Drug court is assigned by a judge if they believe the offender is a good candidate for treatment and that the community would be better served through this route. Drug court is often the sanction imposed as a result of a plea bargain. As long as the offender successfully completes drug court, the offense is sealed from public record. Drug Court is completed along with probation, with mandatory drug and alcohol urine analysis, treatment programs, counseling, mandatory work, and often educational training. As a result of what are deemed good outcomes, a variety of court programs are now focused on treatment rather than incarceration for repeat DWI offenders, parents whose children have been removed from the home due to substance use, juveniles facing criminal charges, tribal communities torn apart by addiction, and veterans struggling with the lingering effects of trauma. These