2006 Kentucky Revised Statutes - .275   Treatment and rehabilitation program for first offenders of possession of controlled substance -- Court\'s discretion to void conviction.

218A.275 Treatment and rehabilitation program for first offenders of possession of controlled substance -- Court's discretion to void conviction. (1) Any person found guilty of possession of a controlled substance pursuant to KRS 218A.1416 or 218A.1417 may for a first offense, be ordered to a facility designated by the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services where a program of treatment and rehabilitation not to exceed one (1) year in duration may be prescribed. The person ordered to the designated facility shall present himself for registration and initiation of a treatment program within five (5) days of the date of sentencing. If, without good cause, the person fails to appear at the designated facility within the specified time, or if at any time during the program of treatment prescribed, the authorized clinical director of the facility finds that the person is unwilling to participate in his treatment and rehabilitation, the director shall notify the sentencing court. Upon receipt of notification, the court shall cause the person to be brought before it and may continue the order of treatment and rehabilitation, or may order confinement in the county jail for not more than one (1) year or a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or both. Upon discharge of the person from the facility by the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, or his designee, prior to the expiration of the one (1) year period or upon satisfactory completion of one (1) year of treatment, the person shall be deemed finally discharged from sentence. The secretary, or his designee, shall notify the sentencing court of the date of such discharge from the facility. (2) The secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, or his designee, shall inform each court of the identity and location of the facility to which such person is sentenced. (3) Transportation to the facility shall be provided by order of the court when the court finds the person unable to convey himself to the facility within five (5) days of sentencing by reason of physical infirmity or financial incapability. (4) The sentencing court shall immediately notify the designated facility of the sentence and its effective date. (5) The secretary for health and family services, or his designee, may authorize transfer of the person from the initially designated facility to another facility for therapeutic purposes. The sentencing court shall be notified of termination of treatment by the terminating facility. (6) Responsibility for payment for treatment services rendered to persons pursuant to this section shall be as under the statutes pertaining to payment of patients and others for services rendered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, unless the person and the facility shall arrange otherwise. (7) Prior to the imposition of sentence upon conviction of a second or subsequent offense, the court shall obtain a report of case progress and recommendations regarding further treatment from any facility at which the person was treated following his first conviction. If such material is not available, the court shall notify the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the secretary shall cause the person to be examined by a psychiatrist employed by the cabinet to evaluate his mental condition and to make recommendations regarding treatment and rehabilitation. The psychiatrist making the examination shall submit a written report of his findings and recommendations regarding treatment and rehabilitation to the court which shall make the report available to the prosecuting attorney and the attorney for the defendant. The court shall take such reports into consideration in determining sentence. The secretary may decline to cause such examination to be made if the number of psychiatrists on duty in the cabinet is insufficient to spare one from his regular duties or if no such service may be purchased at regular cabinet rates; in such event the secretary shall notify the clerk of the court to that effect within three (3) days after receipt of notification by the court. (8) None of the provisions of this section shall be deemed to preclude the court from exercising its usual discretion with regard to ordering probation or conditional discharge. (9) In the case of any person who has been convicted for the first time of possession of controlled substances, the court may set aside and void the conviction upon satisfactory completion of treatment, probation, or other sentence, and issue to the person a certificate to that effect. A conviction voided under this subsection shall not be deemed a first offense for purposes of this chapter or deemed a conviction for purposes of disqualifications or disabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime. Voiding of a conviction under the subsection and dismissal may occur only once with respect to any person. Effective: June 20, 2005 History: Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 549, effective June 20, 2005. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 426, sec. 489, effective July 15, 1998. -- Created 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 441, sec. 9, effective July 28, 1992.