A Judicial Perspective on Issues Impacting the Trial Courts Related to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

This article explores issues that judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, treatment providers, and defendants face when a person who has, or may have, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is charged with a crime. The article is divided into three sections: the first section discusses basic legal concepts and how they relate to those in the criminal justice system who suffer from FASD; the second section examines case studies and lessons learned from the therapeutic drug court, a program of the King County Superior Court in Seattle, Washington; the final section presents case studies of serious felonies, and explores constitutional issues.