Urges New Jersey Supreme Court to refer to supervisory treatment program as "Recovery Court" in publications.

AR124

ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 124

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 9, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

SYNOPSIS

���� Urges New Jersey Supreme Court to refer to
supervisory treatment program as �Recovery Court� in publications.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Assembly
Resolution
urging the New Jersey Supreme
Court to refer to Recovery Courts in publications in lieu of Drug Courts.

Whereas,

N.J.S.A.2C:35-14, known as the special probation statute, establishes a
treatment based alternative to incarceration for certain nonviolent drug or
alcohol dependent persons who meet eligibility criteria; and

Whereas,

The treatment based alternative of N.J.S.A.2C:35-14 is an initiative developed
by the Judiciary in 1996 as a pilot program in three vicinages which spread in
waves to other parts of the State until, by 2004, a Statewide system was in
place; and�

Whereas,

P.L.2012, c. 23, signed into law by Governor Christie on July 19, 2012 expanded
the existing program to compel additional drug offenders into the program; and

Whereas,

In addition to meeting stringent eligibility criteria, a qualified applicant
must comply with programming mandates which include carefully delineated
requirements for admission, assessment, treatment, rehabilitation reporting and
judicial supervision; and

Whereas,

The special probation statute came to be popularly known as the �drug court�
program in New Jersey, including in Judiciary publications; and

Whereas,

In spite of the use of the term �drug court� in common parlance to describe
what is essentially intensely supervised drug and alcohol intervention, the
program is delineated in the statute as special probation; and

Whereas,

The popular name of an initiative can have or acquire a misleading, limiting,
or even a negative connotation; and

Whereas,

Some or all of these undesirable consequences may in fact have occurred with
the popular use of the term �drug court.�� When so designated, the term
emphasizes drug abuse while making no reference to other substances targeted by
the program, including alcohol, and, fails to emphasize the recovery component,
a primary goal of the intensive treatment program; and�

Whereas,

While the term �drug court� is referenced only once in the statutes of this
State and nowhere in N.J.S.A.2C:35-14, but is used extensively in other
capacities including Judiciary publications; now, therefore,

����
Be It
Resolved
by the General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� The New Jersey Supreme
Court is respectfully urged to refrain from using the term �Drug Court� in
publications when describing the special probation established in
N.J.S.A.2C:35-14, and instead, refer to �Recovery Court� to refer to the drug
and alcohol treatment program created therein.�

���� 2.��� Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Clerk of the General Assembly to the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme
Court and the Administrative Director of the Courts.

STATEMENT

���� This resolution urges the New
Jersey Supreme Court to refer to supervisory treatment under N.J.S.A.2C:35-14
as �Recovery Courts.�� It has become popular to refer to the supervisory
treatment as the �drug court� program.� This term even appears in Judiciary
publications disseminated generally and to the public via the Judiciary
website.� However, the term appears only once in the statutes at large, and
nowhere in the relevant statute.� Accordingly, this resolution requests the
Judiciary to take the initiative and begin to refer to the treatment program
referenced in N.J.S.A.2C:35-14 in a more comprehensive manner, emphasizing the
recovery aspect of the programming offered to participants. �