Welcome to Drug Court

October 21, 2008

Some were applauded and others were handcuffed, as nearly fifty people appeared in Drug Court at the Syracuse Public Safety Building this afternoon. Judge Jeffrey Merrill is straightforward and tough, but softens for those he thinks are trying to break their drug addictions. "Welcome to Drug Court," he tells first-timers. 

Drug court is a 12 to 18 month voluntary commitment by drug offenders to overcome substance abuse through random testing and court appearance. Successful participants walk away with a clean record.

 

In Merrill's fast-paced courtroom, honesty is encouraged. "The fastest way to get your butt locked up is to be dishonest when you screwed up," Merrill told one defendant who concealed a relapse.

People bring children, not necessarily theirs, as a strategy, Merrill told a group of student reporters after the session.

"I will throw you in the slammer in front of your kid," Merrill told a man who'd held a child through most of the session, "don't take on baby-sitting when you have court." 

Six out of ten people make it through the program, said Kim Kozlowski, who’s worked with the drug court since its creation.  

"You'd be surprised how many people say, 'I can do the jail time on my head, just give me the sentence,'" Kozlowski told the students. 

"I personally don't care about recidivism," Merrill said regarding relapse. "It's a test of character." Regardless of the path, through court or jail, sobriety matters in the end, he said.

Merrill congratulated a woman who was clean, "My heart goes out to you, I know you got a lot going on. Well done," he said.