For Immediate Release:

            May 17, 2001

Contact:

            Christina Deibel or Linda Weyandt at Oriana House, (330) 535-8116

A special ceremony on Tuesday, May 22, will celebrate the six-year anniversary of the Drug Court program in Akron Municipal Court and will recognize current graduates of the program. Akron Municipal Court Judge Marvin Shapiro will preside over the ceremony. Judge Shapiro took over all Drug Court cases in May 2000, following Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer’s five-year commitment to the program.

A Drug Court is a special court given the responsibility to handle cases involving drug-using offenders through intensive judicial supervision, case management, mandatory substance abuse treatment and drug testing, and graduated sanctions and rewards. A minimum of one year’s participation is required of all offenders. Upon successful completion of the program, offenders have their case dismissed. By coordinating the efforts of numerous community agencies and resources, Drug Court increases the cost-effectiveness of the program. According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, it costs in excess of $20,000 to incarcerate a prisoner for one year. In contrast, drug court programming typically costs less than $2,500 annually for each offender.

The success of Akron Municipal’s Drug Court is well documented. Since its beginning in May 1995, 399 people have successfully completed the Drug Court program. Ninety of those individuals started and completed the program in 2000.

In order to be eligible for Drug Court an offender must meet the following criteria: no more than one prior felony conviction; no more than five prior contempt charges; no previous arrest or conviction for drug trafficking or distribution of drugs; and no violent misdemeanant criminal history in the past five years or violent felony in the past 10 years. The arresting police department and prosecutor must also agree that the client is appropriate for the program. All drug offenders are screened by the Oriana House Admissions Department staff for program eligibility.

The Akron Municipal Drug Court is a collaborative effort between Summit County Courts; the Akron Police Department; the Akron Prosecutor’s Office; the Legal Defender Office; the Akron Municipal Probation Department; the Summit County Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Board; and Oriana House, Inc.

The National Association of Drug Court Professionals is the principal organization of professionals involved in the development and implementation of treatment-oriented drug courts. Since the first drug court was established in 1989 in Miami, Florida, the national drug court field has grown to include over 700 drug courts in operation or in the planning stages.