JUDGE VOWS TO BACK DRUG COURT

O'Neill Says He Is Committed To Discussing The Progress Of Setting
Up The Adult Court With Justice Action Mercy.

Clark County Common Pleas Judge Richard O'Neill committed to discuss
quarterly the progress of establishing an adult drug court in the
county with Justice Action Mercy.

"I will let them know anytime something happens affecting the drug
court," O'Neill said at the group's Monday meeting. "But there may
not be something to report every quarter."

JAM is working on a proposal to establish a separate docket
specifically to handle drug and drug-related crimes.

Officials and organizers set a 2008 goal to start the court.

"We need to set it up right, and that takes some time," said
O'Neill. "It takes some education, it takes some money, it takes
some coordination."

Valerie Hart, associate organizer for JAM, said she was pleased to
have O'Neill's support.

"He's done everything he's committed to doing," said Hart. "He's a
man of his word."

O'Neill took the bench in Common Pleas Court in 1993 when the county
indicted about 670 new felony cases, he said.

"Last year, they indicted 1,180 felony cases," O'Neill said.

This year, felony cases are likely to be more than 1,500,
overwhelming the criminal justice system in Clark County on all
levels, the judge said.

"The intensive supervising probation officers, by grant, are
supposed to have 40 to 50 probationers at a time. Each right now has
80 to 90," said O'Neill.

Organizers say an adult drug court would cut down recidivism and
help to interrupt the cycle of addiction in drug users.

"It's evident that we have a serious problem with drugs and alcohol
in Clark County," said Delvin Harshaw, chairman of JAM's drugs and
crime committee.

A juvenile drug court has been in place in Judge Monnin's court for five years.