Drug Court
In the 13th Judicial Circuit, the Kanawha County Drug Court opened on May 13, 2009, making it the fourth Drug Court to open that year and the eighth County in West Virginia to start a Drug Court. The Kanawha County Drug Court has graduated numerous clients since its opening. The mission of the Kanawha County Drug Court is to enhance public safety while reducing crime and related convictions. The mission is to be accomplished through judicially supervised substance abuse treatment, rehabilitation, and intense monitoring with the goal of returning drug-free, law abiding, and productive citizens to the community.
Kanawha County’s program is a hybrid DUI/Drug Court and handles pre-adjudication, post-conviction, Probation violation, and DUI cases. The minimum time in which a client can graduate is one year. To graduate so soon, a client must receive no sanctions. There are usually between 40 and 50 Drug Court clients at any given time.
The Adult Drug Court Team is headed by:
Judge Jennifer Bailey, Presiding Judge
Judge Ken Ballard, Juvenile Drug Court Judge and Alternate Judge
The team is staffed by a Drug Court Coordinator and members of the Public Defender’s Office, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Adult Probation, Home Confinement, Day Report Center, and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Day Report Center and Home Confinement work closely with Drug Court. Many clients participate in Day Report programs and community service. To learn more about these programs, please see the following:
