(Annapolis, MD — January 22, 2008) The Anne Arundel County District Court will hold a graduation celebration for nine participants of its driving under the influence (DUI)/drug treatment court on Thursday, January 31, at 1:30 p.m., in the District Court Building, 251 Rowe Blvd., Annapolis.

Newly appointed Circuit Judge Michael Wachs will be the guest speaker. Judge Wachs had presided over DUI/drug court when he was a District Court judge.

“DUI/drug court is strict and challenging. Each of these individuals has reached a milestone in their road to recovery,” said Judge Thomas J. Pryal, who presides over DUI/drug court. “All of our graduates have worked very hard to break their cycle of addiction and should be commended for their success.”

Drug and DUI court programs provide treatment, supervision, and judicial monitoring to habitual offenders whose crimes are addiction-driven. Participants take part in vocational, educational, and life skills training to address issues that contribute to their drug or alcohol abuse and criminal behavior.

Nationally, drug treatment court programs have emerged as a practical, cost-effective alternative to incarceration. Re-arrest rates for drug court graduates are significantly lower than for the general population.

More than 600 people have graduated from the Anne Arundel County program since it began 10 years ago. Maryland’s first drug treatment court began in Baltimore in 1994, and there are now 39 drug treatment courts throughout the state with more planned.

For more information about Maryland’s drug courts, visit the Web site for the Maryland Judiciary’s Office of Problem Solving Courts, www.mdcourts.gov/opsc/dtc/.

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(Editor’s Note: Members of the media are invited to attend the graduation, but the use of cameras must be approved in advance. Please contact the Court Information Office at (410) 260-1488 by January 30 if you want to bring a camera or for more information.)