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An adult recovery court for the adjudication of certain drug charges has been approved for Rockbridge County, Buena Vista and Lexington. It’s expected to begin hearing cases early next year.
The Virginia Supreme Court approved the formation of the Maury River Recovery Court last Tuesday, Dec. 3, granting the request of a local advisory committee that’s been meeting regularly over the past year to make plans for the special court. Joshua Elrod, Buena Vista commonwealth’s attorney, and other members of the committee were present in Richmond for the decision to approve the court.
Individuals charged with drug offenses will be able to request to participate in the court as an alternative to traditional criminal court proceedings, explained Elrod, who has been involved in the process to establish this court. He described the alternative to regular court proceedings as a “very intensive program.” Participants will need to be “highly motivated and have a sincere desire to achieve sobriety” in order to successfully complete the program, he said.
Circuit Court Judge Christopher Russell is to preside over the court, which will be held in a courtroom of the Rockbridge County Courthouse in Lexington. Cases to be heard will be referred from the Buena Vista and Rockbridge County/ Lexington courts.
The court is to have an approximately $80,000 annual budget to pay for one fulltime court position and supplies such as drug-testing kits. Some of the services to be utilized are already being used by the local courts.
A potential source of funding could be national opioid settlement funds that are being distributed to the three local jurisdictions. A request for such funding was made at a recent meeting of the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors. To date, settlement funds have been used to establish the Hope House, a group residence in Buena Vista for recovering adult male addicts. A similar such facility for adult women addicts is being planned for the future.
The Community Foundation for Rockbridge, Bath and Alleghany has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Rockbridge County to distribute opioid settlement funds to eligible programs such as the Hope House and the Maury River Recovery Court.
