Washington County residents facing drug charges have lost access to the county's only treatment-based alternative to prison after District Attorney Kevin Barton's office pulled out of the Adult Recovery Court in May.
The program, known as ARC, has accepted no new participants since senior deputy district attorney Jeff MacLean withdrew the DA's participation on May 18, according to OPB. The standoff became public last week when Barton and Presiding Judge Rebecca Guptill exchanged pointed letters on Aug. 6 and Aug. 7, each blaming the other for the shutdown.
The dispute traces to a single case. Sean Bozarth, a Hillsboro man who entered ARC in 2024 facing a stipulated four-year prison sentence on drug-related charges, reoffended in May by reportedly menacing his pregnant girlfriend. His attorneys argued for leniency, and Judge Janelle Wipper sentenced him to probation instead of the agreed-upon prison term.
MacLean pulled the DA's participation days later. "We are deeply concerned that the departure from this approach last week threatens the continued operation of ARC," he wrote May 18.
Barton's office wants new language in the ARC governing agreement that would require judges to impose stipulated sentences when participants reoffend. The current agreement does not expire until 2027.
Guptill, after consulting with the Oregon Judicial Department, said such a requirement would be illegal because sentencing is inherently a judicial function that cannot be delegated to another branch of government, she wrote in her Aug. 6 letter.
What's at stake
ARC serves defendants charged with non-person Class C felonies carrying presumptive prison sentences of more than one year. Participants must be Washington County residents or have significant ties to the county. Between 2005 and 2023, the program graduated 243 people, deferred more than 466 years of state prison time and saved an estimated $14 million in tax dollars, according to the Washington County DA's office.
The program is a collaborative effort involving the Circuit Court, DA's Office, Community Corrections, the Sheriff's Office, the Department of Health and Human Services, the defense bar and local treatment providers. Without the DA's participation, the entire pipeline stops.
No data is publicly available on how many Beaverton-area defendants are typically referred to ARC each year. Beaverton accounts for roughly one-fifth of Washington County's population.
Carl Macpherson, executive director of Metropolitan Public Defender, called the shutdown "alarming." He said the DA's actions have jeopardized a successful rehabilitative program and noted that participants gain custody of their children and reunite with family members through recovery.
Guptill warned the freeze makes the community "less safe in the long term" and called for changing the agreement so no single party can unilaterally halt new entries.
DA spokesperson Stephen Mayer said the office continues working to resolve the impasse. No timeline for a resolution has been announced.
Residents who need information about substance abuse treatment options can contact Washington County Health and Human Services at 503-846-4555.
