ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the history of the formation of the Baltimore court shows that drug courts do not fit neatly within the constraints of the rehabilitative movement in American jurisprudence. It focuses on the formation, history, and current operations of the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court. The chapter discusses the nature of drug courts, noting that the court fits closely with the idea of "social defense," a blend of rehabilitation and incapacitation theory, rather than the more mainstream evocations of the "rehabilitative ideal." Initially developed in the 1960s, social defense theory emphasizes the need to protect society over the needs of rehabilitation, but it also medicalizes criminal behavior, emphasizing the treatment and eventual return of offenders to society upon their cure. The chapter explores the inherent tension created for defense lawyers in the nonadversarial role they play in the drug treatment court.
