MEDIA ADVISORY                                                 AG
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 1995                            (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
                                 
       ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO AND ONDCP DIRECTOR LEE BROWN
             TO ATTEND D.C. DRUG COURT "GRADUATION"
                                
                  HOUSE ACTION THIS WEEK COULD
                CUT DRUG COURT FUNDING NATIONWIDE
     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno, Office of
National Drug Control Policy Director Lee Brown, and D.C. U.S.
Attorney Eric Holder will attend an event Wednesday at which
prosecutors, police and former drug addicts will show how the
District of Columbia's drug court program can help get tough on
drug criminals and return them to society clean and sober.

     Drug courts are designed to force criminals out of the cycle
of drug addiction before they return to the streets.  D.C.'s drug
court, acknowledged as one of the nation's most innovative, assigns
drug felons to a program of intensive coerced abstinence and
treatment for up to eight months.  Tomorrow's event will feature
several participants who have completed the program successfully.

     The 1994 Crime Bill provided $1 billion in funding for drug
courts, but the House of Representatives voted to defund the
program after this fiscal year.  This week the House is expected to
vote on a proposal to eliminate this year's drug court
appropriations, as well.

WHEN:     Wednesday, March 15
          4 p.m. viewing only - no cameras
          4:15 p.m. open to press and cameras
WHERE:    D.C. Superior Court, 500 Indiana Avenue
          Juror's Lounge, 3rd Floor 

Set-up questions should be addressed to Ulysses Hammond, 879-1700.

Note:     Camera operators may be asked to accommodate the request
          of certain program participants to protect their
          anonymity.

This advisory is for planning purposes only, and is not for release
or distribution.



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