Bill Text: NJ AR13 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges New Jersey Supreme Court to refer to supervisory treatment program as "Recovery Court" in publications.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [AR13 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-AR13-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Urges New Jersey Supreme Court to refer to supervisory treatment program as "Recovery Court" in publications.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to refer to Recovery Courts in publications in lieu of Drug Courts.
Whereas, N.J.S.A.2C:35-14, known as the special probation statute, establishes a treatment based alternative to incarceration for certain nonviolent drug or alcohol dependent persons who meet eligibility criteria; and
Whereas, The treatment based alternative of N.J.S.A.2C:35-14 is an initiative developed by the Judiciary in 1996 as a pilot program in three vicinages which spread in waves to other parts of the State until, by 2004, a Statewide system was in place; and
Whereas, P.L.2012, c. 23, signed into law by Governor Christie on July 19, 2012 expanded the existing program to compel additional drug offenders into the program; and
Whereas, In addition to meeting stringent eligibility criteria, a qualified applicant must comply with programming mandates which include carefully delineated requirements for admission, assessment, treatment, rehabilitation reporting and judicial supervision; and
Whereas, The special probation statute came to be popularly known as the "drug court" program in New Jersey, including in Judiciary publications; and
Whereas, In spite of the use of the term "drug court" in common parlance to describe what is essentially intensely supervised drug and alcohol intervention, the program is delineated in the statute as special probation; and
Whereas, The popular name of an initiative can have or acquire a misleading, limiting, or even a negative connotation; and
Whereas, Some or all of these undesirable consequences may in fact have occurred with the popular use of the term "drug court." When so designated, the term emphasizes drug abuse while making no reference to other substances targeted by the program, including alcohol, and, fails to emphasize the recovery component, a primary goal of the intensive treatment program; and
Whereas, While the term "drug court" is referenced only once in the statutes of this State and nowhere in N.J.S.A.2C:35-14, but is used extensively in other capacities including Judiciary publications; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The New Jersey Supreme Court is respectfully urged to refrain from using the term "Drug Court" in publications when describing the special probation established in N.J.S.A.2C:35-14, and instead, refer to "Recovery Court" to refer to the drug and alcohol treatment program created therein.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Administrative Director of the Courts.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the New Jersey Supreme Court to refer to supervisory treatment under N.J.S.A.2C:35-14 as "Recovery Courts." It has become popular to refer to the supervisory treatment as the "drug court" program. This term even appears in Judiciary publications disseminated generally and to the public via the Judiciary website. However, the term appears only once in the statutes at large, and nowhere in the relevant statute. Accordingly, this resolution requests the Judiciary to take the initiative and begin to refer to the treatment program referenced in N.J.S.A.2C:35-14 in a more comprehensive manner, emphasizing the recovery aspect of the programming offered to participants.
