It’s a Wednesday afternoon in Department 1203 at the Central Courthouse, and the man in the defendant’s chair is anxious.

The next morning, he’ll be released from jail and expected to put his name on a waiting list at a drug treatment program. He has no car, no cellphone, no money for cab fare, and, he tells Superior Court Judge Cindy Davis, a poor sense of direction.

“I’ll end up in an empty lot,” he says.

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Davis asks her clerk to print out a map. She includes notes to make sure the directions are clear and adds a Post-It with the date of the man’s next court appearance, when he’ll need to provide proof that he’s in treatment or on a waiting list. He’s already had two warrants for failing to show up in court. This, she warns him, could be his last chance.

He tells her

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