Senators Bishop, Sanborn and Cropsey offered the following resolution:

            Senate Resolution No. 125.

            A resolution observing National Drug Court Month during May 2006 and in celebration of the 52-2 Sobriety Court’s inaugural commencement ceremony on May 4, 2006.

            Whereas, Drug and sobriety courts successfully combine judicial accountability and evidence-based treatment to effectively intervene against substance abuse and related crime; and

            Whereas, Results of more than one hundred program evaluations and at least three experimental studies have yielded definitive evidence that drug and sobriety courts increase treatment retention and reduce both substance abuse and crimes committed by drug- and alcohol-addicted offenders; and

            Whereas, Independent-contracted evaluators have concluded that the recidivism rate for 52-2 Sobriety Court participants in the court’s first year of operation stands at 4 percent, compared to the national recidivism rate for sobriety court graduates of 16 percent and the nationwide recidivism rate for repeat drunk-driving offenders of 33 percent; and

            Whereas, Based on a nonsobriety-court sentenced comparison group average of seventeen days in jail for repeat drunk-driving offenders, a conservative estimate of incarceration costs saved is $25,500 in just the first year of the 52-2 Sobriety Court program; and

            Whereas, 52-2 Sobriety Court participants enter the program as repeat drunk-driving offenders trapped in a cycle of alcohol addiction and emerge fifteen to eighteen months later as sober and contributing members of society; and

            Whereas, The judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, substance abuse treatment professionals, law enforcement, community supervision personnel, researchers and educators, leaders on the local, state, and national levels, and others dedicated to the drug and sobriety court movement have demonstrated that drug and sobriety court programs have a profound impact on public safety and quality of life in the United States, the state of Michigan, and local communities; and

            Whereas, The 52-2 Sobriety Court is one of more than 1,760 operational drug and sobriety courts in the United States; and

            Whereas, The 52-2 Sobriety Court holds its inaugural commencement ceremony on May 4, 2006, celebrating the discharge with improvement from probation of its first seven Sobriety Court graduates; and

            Whereas, The month of May is designated by the President of the United States as National Drug Court Month, commemorating the promise of recovery and the restoration of hope to drug and sobriety court graduates and their families; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Senate, That we hereby join in the celebration of National Drug Court Month during May 2006 and in the celebration of the 52-2 Sobriety Court’s inaugural commencement ceremony on May 4, 2006; and be it further

            Resolved, That the Michigan Senate congratulate the first seven graduates of the 52-2 Sobriety Court program and recognize each graduate’s commitment to living a sober life; and be it further

            Resolved, That the Senate applaud the success of the 52-2 Sobriety Court Team and other drug and sobriety court teams working in Michigan and across the United States and recognize the significant contributions that drug and sobriety courts have made and will continue to make to the reduction of drug- and alcohol-fueled criminal behavior; and be it further

            Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the 52-2 Sobriety Court as evidence of our esteem and support for their efforts.