Man sentenced using Vermont's new DUI treatment docket

A Springfield man who led police on a pursuit last fall before he was charged with a fifth drunken driving offense was sentenced Friday as part of Vermont's experimental new “DUI treatment docket.”
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140421/NEWS02/704219939

Published April 21, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Man sentenced using Vermont's new DUI treatment docket By ERIC FRANCIS CORRESPONDENT WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Springfield man who led police on a pursuit last fall before he was charged with a fifth drunken driving offense was sentenced Friday as part of Vermont's experimental new “DUI treatment docket.” Harold Buker, 47, will spend a mandatory four days in jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony count of DUI, which was amended down from a fifth to a third offense for purposes of the plea deal. His overall sentence is a suspended one- to four-year term including four years of probation. The treatment docket, modeled after “drug court” programs that have been successful in other states, began this year in Vermont. The purpose of the docket is to reduce repeat offenses by requiring defendants to engage in counseling and to come to court every other week to update a judge on progress. After Buker entered his plea Friday, Judge Karen Carroll invited him up to the bench where she gave him an inscribed black rock, explaining, “I'm going to give you this stone that says 'believe' because I want you to believe that you can make it through this program and do what's required of you and come out on the other side meeting your goals (of staying sober and getting your license back) that you just told me about.” As the other DUI Treatment Docket attendees applauded, Carroll shook Buker's hand and had him take two coins out of a white bowl she had up on the bench. The tokens, which read, “Recovery is a process and not an event” on one side and, “Enjoy the journey” on the other, are given out each week to those who have kept their appointments and met program goals. Once a participant has collected 12 coins they can be exchanged for a congratulatory prize, Carroll explained. During the hearing, Windsor County Deputy State's Attorney Glenn Barnes recommended the plea agreement, telling the court, “Mr. Buker has been waiting for quite some time to get into this treatment docket and during that time he has made some strides towards sobriety and a more productive life and the state looks forward to continuing to watch as Mr. Buker develops and makes positive changes going forward.” Buker's defense attorney, Mike Shane, echoed those comments to Carroll, adding, “I would point out that Mr. Buker works full-time and has also been working full-time at getting his life back together.” When it came to his turn to speak, Buker told Carroll, “I greatly appreciate the opportunity to do this program.” “You've been doing really well, even just in the orientation phase,” Carroll noted, adding, “I hear that you were sometimes walking to appointments that you needed to go to which shows us that you are serious about wanting to do this.” “You've been sober for how long now?” the judge asked. “Well over a month,” Buker replied. “That's good,” Carroll said. “This is a time-consuming program that you are entering and it does place a lot of responsibility on you to keep up your end of the bargain. … I hear you have wonderful organizational skills so that's always a help too,” she added.