City and County Drug Courts Join Forces for Graduation Ceremony at the Rock Hall

(Cleveland) – The 69th Graduation Ceremony of the Greater Cleveland Drug Court was a lot different on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 as it joined forces with Cuyahoga County’s Recovery Court at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

The ceremony took place at 2:00 p.m. at the Foster Theater on the Fourth Floor with the graduates led by Recovery Court

Judge Joan Synenberg and Greater Cleveland Drug Court Judge Lauren C. Moore.  Seven of the graduates are from Judge Synenberg’s court and 13 from Judge Moore’s.

The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Tina Valentine Christian, the Assistant Program Manager of Laura’s Home, a crisis center for women and children.   Tina has almost six years of recovery after surviving a 13-year battle with addiction that ended with heroin. Tina is passionate about helping others recover from addiction and she makes one thing very clear.

“Your recovery story does not belong to you.  It belongs to the person that needs to hear it,” she told the crowd.

The Greater Cleveland Drug Court was established in 1998 under Judge Larry A. Jones, who presided over the docket until 2008 when he was elected to the Eighth District Court of Appeals. Sadly Judge Jones passed away suddenly less than two weeks ago. 

Recovery Court began in January of 2015 with the appointment of Judge Synenberg and is one of three dockets in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Drug Court designed to help clients in overcoming addiction issues that may have contributed to their criminal activity. Recovery Court, which handles felony-level charges, also treats the underlying mental health issues related to trauma.

“We are so thankful to the Rock Hall for providing this opportunity to our graduates.  They have worked so hard to achieve this goal, and being at the Rock Hall will make it even more special,” said Judge Synenberg.

Judge Moore, who presided over the Greater Cleveland Drug Court since 2015, said she’s always proud of her graduates.

“I tell them that “they rock,” so the Rock Hall was the perfect location for us to celebrate their completion of the program,” said Judge Moore.