|
The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission's (ACJC) Drug, Gang and Violent Crime program
area is responsible for the administration of the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners,
and Special Prosecution programs.
In addition to grant administration and monitoring responsibilities, this area also
distributes Fill the Gap funds to county attorney and indigent defense offices in
all 15 counties. Signed into law in 1998, Fill the Gap legislation established a
formula grant program to improve the flow of criminal cases in the criminal justice
system. The goal of the program is to dispose of 90 percent of cases within 100
days from filing and 99 percent within 180 days. This goal is based on the realization
that the work of the courts, county attorneys and indigent defense are inter-related
and all elements must move smoothly through the system to reduce case-processing
time. Arizona Revised Statute ยง41-2409 authorizes the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission
to distribute and oversee a portion of Fill the Gap funds for the county and defense
attorneys to realize this goal. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) manages
Fill the Gap funds distributed to the courts.
|