(Cleveland) – The 63rd Graduation Ceremony of the Greater Cleveland Drug Court, under the direction of Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Lauren C. Moore, will take place Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. in the Cuyahoga County Jury Assembly Room located on the fourth floor of the Justice Center.
Contact: Ed Ferenc, Public Information Officer
Cleveland Municipal Court
216 664 6787 / 216 789 2597
ference@cmcoh.org www.cmcoh.org
(Cleveland) – The 63rd Graduation Ceremony of the Greater Cleveland Drug Court, under the direction of Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Lauren C. Moore, will take place Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. in the Cuyahoga County Jury Assembly Room located on the fourth floor of the Justice Center.
A total of 10 people are expected to graduate, which brings the total number of people who have successfully completed the program to 1,779 since it began 21 years ago.
The keynote speaker for the ceremony will be Jimmie Feaster, a recovering alcoholic who did time in jail for selling drugs. He has since turned his life around and now is a successful business owner and father.
“I just want to tell the graduates there is always hope. It’s one day at a time,” said Feaster, who has been sober for 14 years.
Participants in the Greater Cleveland Drug Court generally spend 12 to 20 months in the program. Longer cases may occur due to the fact that opiate addicts generally need more treatment time. This year, four of the graduates entered the program with felonies, while the others were charged with lesser offenses.
Specialized dockets like the Greater Cleveland Drug Court are dedicated to handling offenses related to substance abuse, and use a combination of techniques for holding the offenders accountable while also addressing the underlying causes of their behavior.
There are more than 150 specialized dockets in Ohio. In 2014, this particular docket was certified by the Supreme Court of Ohio. The Drug Court Program began in the Cleveland Municipal Court in 1998, however, and has since expanded to other parts of Cuyahoga County.