Eighth Judicial District DUI Recovery Court earns Academy Court status

Monday, May 1, 2023
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The DUI Recovery Court in the Eighth Judicial District (Jackson and Larimer counties) has been designated one of six National Center for DWI Courts (NCDC) academy courts.

The Academy Court Network, developed by the NCDC and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, identifies exemplary DUI and DWI courts that can offer training, receive staff from other jurisdictions for site visits, participate in research, and serve as national models for such courts.

The DUI Recovery Court (DUIRC) serves adults convicted of felony DUI whose repeat impaired-driving behavior can be traced to a clinical substance use disorder. Participants undergo comprehensive treatment while continuing to live and work in the community. They are held accountable through a sentence that combines an initial term of work release, intensive probation supervision and biweekly or monthly court reviews with Larimer County Judge Matthew Zehe, who has presided over the program since it began operations in July 2010. More than 145 participants have graduated from the program.

As an academy court, the DUIRC will serve as a national model for other DUI/DWI court programs. The designation is a recognition of the court’s successful outcomes, its adherence to best practices and the effective collaboration of various agencies and stakeholders.

The DUIRC is managed by program coordinator Harry McCrystal and a multidisciplinary team of representatives of the Probation Department, Larimer County Criminal Justice Services Division, Creative Counseling Services, the District Attorney’s Office, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, and the private criminal defense bar. The team provides supervision and treatment services to participants, recommends appropriate court responses to compliance issues and maintains program planning and development.

The DUIRC in December 2022 earned reaccreditation from Colorado’s Problem-Solving Court Accreditation Program. In 2017, the DUIRC was the first DUI court in Colorado to earn accreditation from that program.

Representatives of the NCDC and Colorado State Court Administrator’s Office will be present in Division 1A of the Larimer County Justice Center at 11:15 a.m. on May 12, 2023, to recognize these milestones.

More information about the NCDC may be found at https://www.dwicourts.org/ and about Colorado’s problem-solving courts at https://www.courts.state.co.us/Administration/Unit.cfm?Unit=prbsolcrt. Questions about the DUIRC may be directed to McCrystal at harry.mccrystal@judicial.state.co.us.