First of all, this is in no way to be interpreted as a request for legal or medical advice.
Many threads here on the SD cover “mandatory” treatment (e.g. drug or alcohol) when a person has been placed on criminal probation for an offense such as DUI. Some people object when the convicted offender is forced to attend a program with a religious bent.
To what extent do offenders get to pick the treatment program they attend, and especially what happens if the person is already seeking treatment, but the treatment provider is not linked in with the probation system (e.g. doesn’t have the right licenses or is unwilling to take arbitrary referrals).
Example: Joe realizes that he has a problem with alcohol. He starts seeing a private, secular psychiatrist and is making some progress. He is then convicted of DUI, and the court’s standard DUI sentence includes mandatory AA. Can Joe request (either of the Judge or the Probation Board) to substitute the current treatment for the AA?
IANAL, but many judges are reasonable enough about this sort of thing. I believe that many judges and POs are also aware that 12-Step programs are not suitable for every single person.
“Joe” might have the best luck making this request if he brings a letter from the secular psych with him, which specifically addresses the fact that they are making progress, and that Joe may not be a good fit with AA. It would probably be a good idea to increase the frequency of their sessions, and mention that too.
However, if the judge cuts Joe some slack, and then he f***ks up again, expect no mercy. One really doesn’t want to make them look bad for being reasonable.
AA is not treatment. It is a 12 step program. If treatment is ordered AA will not satisfy that requirement.
My probation department is licensed by the State to refer offenders to appropriate treatment programs. Any treatment providers that want us to refer people to them must meet certain requirements. If you are court-ordered to treatment, but are going to your own provider, that might be acceptable to our drug/alcohol program, provided your therapist has appropriate certifications. If we let people go to any quack that hung up a shingle, we would lose our license.
Judges aren’t supposed to order people into AA, although many do it anyway. If an offender’s probation was violated for refusing to go to AA he would win the case, as there is precedent stating that AA is a religious program. Our probation department sometimes orders people in “AA or the equivalent,” and non-religious people can choose to go to Rational Recovery, a non-religious similar program.
I’m a probation officer in Indiana. YMMV.