|
-
Ryan Olson says caring for his son, Kasper, with his girlfriend keeps him drug-free, but he may go to jail. |
Ryan Olson's MySpace page says "Free Judson" across the top.
His friend Judson Harris is serving six months in jail on a drug possession charge after failing the drug court program.
And Olson could soon join him at Rappahannock Regional Jail.
The two didn't get dismissed for failing drug tests during the program or missing the mandated group sessions.
Instead, it was because of the very MySpace pages Olson is using to talk about his friend's dilemma.
"They found my MySpace, and they were not happy about it," Olson said about offensive comments he had made online poking fun at a drug court officer.
Olson, Harris and their mothers are now ready to fight the system and the felonies that will be on their records--with a little help from the American Civil Liberties Union and their attorney, Joe Brown.
STAYING CLEAN
Olson, 23, and Harris, 24, met in drug court, a diversion-style program where they attended group sessions and regular court hearings.
It is an alternative the local circuit courts often give to offenders who they think would benefit more from rehabilitation than jail.
When entering drug court, a person agrees to a guilty plea and sentence if he or she fails the program. In return, the charge gets dismissed after a successful completion.
Olson was charged with possession of ecstasy but said his "drug of choice" was marijuana.
Harris was charged with possession of heroin, and he faced charges in Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg. He was in the drug court program for both charges.
Olson said that while he was skeptical at first about drug court, he and Harris were committed to being drug-free after starting it.
"I've been clean since July 28, 2006, and I'll stick by that," he said. "Even after I was kicked out, I still stayed clean."
He said caring for his newborn son with his long-term girlfriend helps keep him drug-free.
Harris was not permitted to be interviewed in jail because he has pending charges, but his mother, Patty Smith, said she and her son are both grateful for the changes drug court helped Harris make.
She said, however, they were also upset at the way his termination was handled.
"My son had gotten on his feet and was doing well for the first time in years," Smith said. "But he has had everything taken from him and now he has to start from square one."
BEING OFFENSIVE
In August, Harris' MySpace "name" was jokingly that of his drug court officer.
And Olson posted a comment on Harris' wall Aug. 23 about the officer being gay, having sexual body piercings and wanting to make sure Harris did time in jail.
Four days later, the two were dismissed without warning from the program at their regular hearing.
"They said that the attitude I had toward the drug court members did not show that I was serious about my recovery," Olson said.
Kelly Hale, the drug court administrator, would not talk about the specific case, but did say attitude would never be the sole factor in someone failing the program.
"When a client is terminated, it is not a decision made by one person, it is a board of people," she said.
The board makes a recommendation to the drug court judge, John Scott, who ultimately decides whether the person stays or goes, she said.
DOING TIME
Olson said he knows the comment he made was inappropriate, but he doesn't see why it warrants his dismissal from drug court.
And ACLU attorney Rebecca Glenberg agrees.
"Certainly the things posted on MySpace were constitutionally protected," she said.
Hale said looking at online profiles of the people going through drug court is a common practice.
Harris has already had his day in Spotsylvania Circuit Court, where he was sentenced to the six months he had to serve if he failed drug court. His attorney, Brown, wasn't given a chance to argue his case to the judge. And Harris' Fredericksburg date is still to come.
Glenberg said the ACLU decided to get involved in the case for two reasons: She felt the dismissal of the two men was unjust, and more important, there was a lack of due process in the system.
NO APPEAL
Hale said anyone who enters drug court signs a waiver of the right to an appeal there.
But Smith said she has a problem with the waiver--it's mandatory if you're going to be in drug court.
"By not allowing an appeal, you're signing away your civil rights," she said.
When someone returns to Circuit Court after being kicked out of drug court, he or she is usually not given a chance to argue the case, and that concerns Glenberg.
"When [Harris] was dismissed from the drug court program, there was no notice and no opportunity to present his side of the story," she said. "The point is that we don't take people's liberty away without allowing them the right of a hearing."
Olson will go to court in Stafford tomorrow, and Harris is in Fredericksburg Friday.
Olson said he just hopes someone there will listen.
And if no one does, both families have discussed a civil lawsuit, according to Olson and Smith.
"There are still charges, so we have to wait this out," Smith said. "But it's definitely something we're considering."
Ellen Biltz: 540/374-5424
