the program he now proposed “would include education, vocational training, medicine, psychiatry, and religion. But the alcoholic did not seem to fit completely into this program...all the rest would not help him if the problems which drove him to drink were not solved. If every offender were to receive full advantage of the new program, then the alcoholic too must receive the assistance and understanding of all available knowledge and procedures. And in line with this new approach to rehabilitation, I looked upon Alcoholics Anonymous as a tool to help us rebuild lives.” 

To Warden Duffy’s aid came Warren T. and other members in the San Francisco area and thus began the pioneering of A.A.’s first prison group in 1942. As Warden Duffy has since said, “Had it not been for the regular help and understanding given by our A.A. friends outside, the San Quentin chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous would most assuredly have failed. And by the same token, if it had not been for the persistence of that first group of alcoholic inmates who realized their serious problem and their need for help, we could never have continued beyond the first few meetings.” 

Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age - a brief history of A.A., pages 89-90

the group secretary (or other group officer) is willing to sign their first name, or to initial a slip furnished by the court saying so-and-so was at the meeting on a particular date. Hopefully, all involved recognize that neither the group nor its members are “bound” in any way by the signature, nor does this courtesy signify affiliation of the A.A. group with any other program or guarantee that the attendee was present for the entire meeting; it simply illustrates cooperation. Court professionals should understand too, that attendance at A.A. meetings doesn’t guarantee sobriety.

Placing great emphasis on A.A.’s principle of Anonymity, we understand that some A.A. members are uncomfortable when asked to sign their full name or to supply other personal information indicating that they are A.A. members. This cherished Tradition of Anonymity provides protection to all A.A.s from being publically identified as alcoholics, a safeguard especially important to the newcomer. Since each group is autonomous, and providing proof of attendance at meetings is not a specific part of A.A.’s program, each group and group member has the right to choose whether or not to sign court slips.

While some groups have elected not to sign court cards, it is our experience that most groups will try to cooperate with our professional friends. In some areas, courts furnish cooperating A.A. groups with sealed, stamped envelopes addressed to the court. In general, the secretary of the group announces that anybody needing an envelope may get it after the meeting. The newcomer takes the envelope, privately writes his or her name and/or return address on it, and mails it. In other areas, each cooperating group has a sheet, furnished by the court, that the secretary announces is available for court ordered newcomers to sign after the meeting. The secretary returns the sheets in envelopes furnished by the referring agency. In this way, it is not the A.A. group, but the prospect’s own signature which affirms he or she was at the meeting.