Participants, family members, and friends gathered at the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on September 16 to celebrate a graduation ceremony held by the Adult Drug Treatment Court program. The event was presided over by Judge Sylvester B. Cox in Courthouse East, with Judges Ellen M. Heller and Thomas J.S. Waxter, Jr., also present.
“Drug court graduations are one of the more pleasant activities that happen in these court buildings,” stated Judge Cox. “Drug treatment court participants have reclaimed their lives from the throes of addiction, and they are to be commended for that.”
The Baltimore City Circuit Court Adult Drug Treatment Court was established in March 1994 as one of the first programs of its kind in the nation. It combines judicial oversight with intensive treatment and supervision, offering vocational, educational, life skills training, and other services to address issues contributing to substance abuse and criminal behavior. The program's mission is to enhance public safety “through timely intervention and comprehensive treatment of substance abuse offenders, to provide for the rehabilitation of these individuals, and to ‘break the cycle’ of recidivism.”
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby served as the keynote speaker at the graduation. Other speakers included Robert Morton, an alumnus of the drug court program, and Daniel Smith, Manager of the Assignment Division for the Baltimore City Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.
“This court is about rehabilitation,” said Mr. Morton. “The staff and judges went out of their way to help me. For me to do anything but be responsible and accountable for my own actions would be not appreciating what they did for me. My passion is to help juveniles avoid this path because prevention is just as, if not more important.”
Smith remarked, “I have been clean for 29 years. It is my passion to reach back and help others who are just like I used to be. For the drug court participants, this is the first day of the rest of their lives. No one will be impressed that they completed drug court. People will be impressed by what they do next, by what they bring to the table.”
Further information about the drug treatment court program can be found on the Baltimore City Circuit Court website.