"I don't think we can incarcerate our way out of drug and alcohol problems," said Judge Harvey Hoffman of Eaton County, Mich. Hoffman said that jail time provides only a short period of public safety. On the other hand, DWI courts focus on treating alcoholism by providing drunk drivers with addiction interventions.

DWI courts typically feature weekly or biweekly review hearings, daily testing for alcohol and other drug use, and progress reports from probation officers and addiction counselors. Those who go through DWI court may still serve some jail time, and will not see the crime removed from their records after treatment is completed.

Since Hoffman started one of the first DWI courts in 1997, he said recidivism rates have dropped from 45 percent to 13.5 percent.

Jeffrey Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has been encouraging more communities to establish DWI courts. Currently, there are 60 such treatment courts across the country.

But despite their proven success, DWI courts are not favored by all judges. "Some judges believe the judiciary shouldn't be involved in social work," said C. West Huddleston III, director of the National Drug Court Institute.

Hoffman acknowledges that the program might not be ideal for every judge. "Certainly, there's an attitude among many judges, older judges, that the classic role of the judge is to provide a fair and impartial and removed judgment of cases, and that is certainly appropriate," he said.

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