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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 §41-2409 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.
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