COURT HOUSE – The Atlantic/Cape May Vicinage will conduct two drug court graduation ceremonies in May.
The Atlantic County ceremony will be May 10 at 1 p.m. in the first floor auditorium of the Atlantic County Office Building, 1333 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City. There will be six graduates and 18 participants entering the fourth and final phase of the program. Superior Court Judge Michael R. Connor will preside over the ceremony.
The Cape May County graduation will be May 17 at 11 a.m. at the Cape May County Courthouse, 9 N. Main St., Cape May Courthouse. Cape May will have nine graduates and seven phase four participants. Judge John C. Porto will preside over the ceremony.
Author Michael L. Williams Jr., founder and president of the Minor Adjustments Program Group, will serve as keynote speaker at both events. Judge Connor, who will be presiding over his last drug court graduation, will be honored at both ceremonies.
“Judge Connor has made a positive impact in the lives of drug court participants and their families. We owe him a great debt of gratitude for his extraordinary service,” said Assignment Judge Julio L. Mendez.
This is the vicinage’s 15th graduation ceremony since the program’s inception in 2004.
The drug court program is a highly specialized team process within the existing Superior Court structure that relies upon a collaborative relationship between criminal justice officials and drug treatment professionals to assist non-violent drug offenders in rehabilitation. Drug court programs are rigorous, requiring completion of four phases during five years of intensive drug and alcohol treatment and testing.
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