An Illinois drug conviction often leads to serious consequences, and depending on the severity of your drug charge, you may be facing possible jail time. If you meet certain eligibility requirements, though, you may be able to avoid serving time by instead entering a DuPage County Drug Court.
What do those eligibility requirements include?
Eligibility requirements
According to The County of DuPage, you may be eligible for drug court if you are a legal U.S. citizen, are at least 18 years of age and have a history of abusing substances. If you are facing more than one drug charge, you must address all of them in your drug court agreement to potentially participate. Also, if you are facing any charges in counties other than DuPage, or if you have outstanding warrants in other jurisdictions, you must resolve them before gaining entry.
Factors that make you ineligible
Any violent crime committed within the last 10 years excludes you from participating in a DuPage County drug court. If the crime you currently face is violent in nature, this also makes you ineligible. If you are unable to admit or acknowledge that you have a substance abuse problem and a desire to get better, this, too, excludes you from consideration.
Compliance requirements
If you meet all the criteria outlined above, you may be able to enter a county drug court program. Once there, plan on making regular appearances before drug court administrators. You should also plan to submit to regular and random drug tests, attend substance abuse treatment classes and otherwise follow the terms of your agreement, or you may face alternative sanctions.