A decade later, Judge Haney finally ‘graduates’ from Drug Court

In 2016, amidst a statewide moratorium on new specialty courts, now retired District Court Judge John Haney decided to push forward and establish one in Marshall County anyway, dubbing it "Enhanced Supervision Court," also known as Drug Court. Over a decade later, the court has helped countless men and women struggling with addiction find a new lease on life and avoid incarceration.

On Friday afternoon, Haney returned to his old stomping grounds to listen in on the latest session of Drug Court as participants provided updates to Judge Bethany Currie, who has taken over the program since he retired in July. And before the group celebrated a graduation of one of them, Currie presented Haney with a special "graduation" recognition of his own for all of the time and effort he has put into ESC since its inception.

"We wanted to thank you for all you've done," Currie said. "We wanted to give you a proper sendoff, and we decided that because you were back anyway for a participant's graduation, which we knew you would come back, that we would let you graduate as well."

Currie then recounted the story of how ESC came to be during the moratorium with no money and no resources, a team of volunteers and just five participants.

"It was a really big deal to show up and to start the program, and everyone involved was enthusiastic and supportive for the brand new (court) with no training whatsoever. So they definitely tried hard," she said.

In order to build public support and provide objective oversight for ESC, Haney launched an advisory committee, and Currie noted that he outlasted a county attorney, two defense attorneys, two probation officers and a police chief.

"We thank you for your time, for your confidence in the program, and your persistence to make sure it happened even when the powers that be said no," Currie said. "We literally would not be here without all of your efforts. You are by far the longest person to have ever been in Drug Court, and you've finally graduated after 10 years."

The current presiding judge also read written comments from Marshalltown Police Chief Chris Jones, who said Haney had helped to make ESC a model court supervision program in the state of Iowa.

"Your genuine concern for others, patience and deep understanding of life barriers have helped make this program so successful. Your commitment to bringing an innovative, treatment-focused approach to our local justice system has fundamentally changed how I and many within our community view substance abuse and rehabilitation," Jones wrote. "I can say that beyond a reasonable doubt, my leadership within the city of Marshalltown has been positively impacted by the insight and leadership you have provided in my time with ESC. I want to thank you for being a positive role model for me, and I want to wish Judge Haney, Carol and their family the very best in retirement. Thank you, Judge Haney, for all you've accomplished for our community."

As several of the individuals involved with the program professionally took turns sharing reflections with Haney, defense attorney Jennie Wilson-Moore and Darcy Parks of Prairie Ridge Integrated Behavioral Healthcare said Drug Court was "by far" their favorite part of their respective jobs.

Judge Currie presented Haney with his official graduation certificate, and he told the audience gathered inside the grand courtroom on the fourth floor of the Marshall County Courthouse that he was "beyond words" as he looked back on his time launching and leading the program. He called then-Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court Mark Cady to ask for forgiveness and received his blessing to continue with ESC, and the rest is history.

"But it's not about me. It's about the team, and we have a fantastic, committed team here in Marshalltown," Haney said. "And they show up every day. They try their best. They're brutally honest with you. They care about you, but it's really good."

He then shifted the focus to the participants and expressed excitement about the impending graduation, noting that not all stories follow a straight and linear path, and mistakes are made along the way.

"What you're doing is living and breathing hope," Haney said. "I'm so proud of you guys. You do great work. Keep it up. It brings joy to my heart."

Before they could move on to the other graduation at Haney's insistence, Iowa Court of Appeals Judge Sharon Greer finally spoke and called him a "dear friend" who she missed working with dearly and brought him some chocolates as a gift, though she joked that it was a smaller pack because she didn't want him packing on the pounds.

Haney then told the participants they could be anything they want to be and improve their own lives along with those of the people they care about.

"Hey, guess what? You're no different than anybody else. Everybody's got problems. Everybody's got trials and tribulations. They've got traumas. They've got joys. It happens in life. It's what it's about," he said. "We've got all kinds of stories, don't we? We could write books on you guys getting through life, and you're doing so working on your recovery every day in different ways. And recovery is a lot of different things. It's not just staying sober."

His final piece of advice was simple: keep it up.

Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.