The Odd Couple in Treatment Courts (Prosecutor and Defense Counsel)

The prosecutor and defense counsel are important members of a treatment court’s multidisciplinary team. While serving on a treatment court team, the roles of the prosecutor and defense counsel differ from their roles in a traditional court of law. Along with embracing individual paradigm shifts, the prosecutor and defense counsel must embrace new ways of working together on a treatment court team. Both parties play a very important role on the team and must balance cooperation and collaboration while maintaining their duties to client advocacy and protecting public safety. JSI Associate Tammy Westcott will discuss how to effectively navigate this new dynamic that will benefit the whole team and the participants.

During this presentation, attendees will:

• Understand the unique relationship between defense counsel and the prosecutor in treatment courts
• Learn how to effectively maintain ethical and legal boundaries while working on a collaborative team with opposing counsel
• Gain a better understanding of how to maintain your unique roles while working together on the shared goal of participant success and recovery