San Diego Superior Court runs several collaborative courts, including four Adult Drug Courts, Veterans Treatment Court, Behavioral Health Court, Reentry Court, and Mandatory Supervision Court, and each has its own entry rules (San Diego Superior Court, Collaborative Courts Descriptions). This page focuses on Adult Drug Court and on the court’s Substance Abuse Assessment Unit (SAAU), which assesses and refers defendants in drug- and alcohol-related cases. Which path applies depends on the charge, your record, and whether a judge orders the referral.

San Diego’s Adult Drug Court

San Diego’s Adult Drug Court is “a special court that hears selected felony and misdemeanor cases involving non-violent, drug-using offenders.” It combines frequent random drug testing, direct judicial supervision, treatment counseling, and court-imposed sanctions and incentives, rather than unsupervised probation or a diversion program.

Eligibility has real limits. San Diego’s Adult Drug Courts exclude anyone charged with a violent offense, a sex crime, manufacturing illegal substances, or another serious offense. Program funding separately excludes any offender charged with a violent offense or who has a prior conviction for a violent crime. Ask a defense lawyer early whether your charge and record fit inside these limits before you count on this option.

If you are accepted, a Drug Court Team supervises your participation: the judge and court staff, the District Attorney, the Public Defender, state and local law enforcement, and a single case manager and treatment provider under contract to the county’s Health and Human Services Agency. The team holds status hearings weekly, and you appear before the judge weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on your program phase. Before each hearing, the judge receives a progress report that includes your test results and attendance.

The program lasts a minimum of 18 months, and participants pay a minimal $20 weekly fee to the treatment provider. Falling behind does not mean automatic failure: the court can increase testing, require more program attendance or a residential program as a condition of staying in, or order jail time as a sanction. Termination from the program, followed by sentencing, is the final sanction. On successful completion, probation may be terminated; only in rare instances, on the prosecutor’s recommendation, is the drug charge itself dismissed.

Sessions are set by division: Central Courthouse, 1100 Union Street, Dept. 1901, Tuesdays 9:30 a.m. to noon; North County, 325 S. Melrose Drive, Dept. 23, Thursdays 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.; East County, 250 East Main St., Dept. 4, Wednesdays 10:00 a.m. to noon; and South County, 500 Third Avenue, Dept. 9, Fridays 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

The other collaborative courts

The court’s description sheet (cited above) summarizes the rest:

  • Veterans Treatment Court takes applications from veterans or active military whose criminal conduct stemmed from their service, including people assessed with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, or substance abuse issues. It lasts at least 18 months, and graduates may petition the court to dismiss their charges. Military diversion under Penal Code section 1001.80 is a separate pretrial request with its own procedure.
  • Behavioral Health Court is a program of at least 18 months for people living with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, with housing, treatment, and oversight.
  • Reentry Court serves high-risk, high-need people with substance abuse and mental health issues who reoffend while on supervision or face new charges; it lasts at least 18 months.
  • Mandatory Supervision Court is for people serving a split sentence, who report their progress after release from Sheriff’s custody.

DUI and other cases: the Substance Abuse Assessment Unit

Separate from Drug Court, the Substance Abuse Assessment Unit (SAAU) has helped judges assess and refer defendants into programs that help them complete probation since 1994. A judge can refer any criminal case that may have been committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol, not only a DUI, or can order an assessment to confirm that a defendant does not have a drug or alcohol problem. The SAAU has offices in the criminal divisions of the Central, North County, East County, and South County courthouses.

If you are referred, you complete a questionnaire about current or past drug and alcohol use and treatment, then talk with a qualified assessor who identifies any pattern of use and makes a treatment referral if one is needed.

For a DUI case, there are two ways to enroll in a DUI program: through the DMV’s Admin Per Se procedure before your court hearing, or after the hearing with a referral from the court and the SAAU. If you need more time to enroll in or finish a court-ordered program, the court’s pages say to appear at the Criminal Business Office, Monday through Friday, to ask for an extension on the court-ordered probationary term.

Deciding which path actually applies

  • Whether your charge falls inside Drug Court’s exclusions, and whether you have a prior conviction for a violent crime.
  • In a DUI case, whether you will enroll before the court hearing through the DMV’s Admin Per Se process or after it on a court and SAAU referral.
  • For a veteran, whether Veterans Treatment Court or a separate military diversion request fits the case better.
  • What finishing would get you: the court’s page says probation may be terminated, and that dismissal of the drug charge happens only in rare instances. Clearing a conviction afterward is a separate request under Penal Code section 1203.4, which also covers people discharged from probation early, subject to that section’s own conditions and exceptions.

These are court programs with real conditions attached, not an automatic alternative to a conviction. To see how they fit among California’s diversion and specialty courts, or to have your charge, record, and referral paperwork reviewed, the Law Offices of David S. Chesley can be reached at (800) 755-5174.