Clermont County, Ohio, DUI Court

The morning’s online Enquirer has an article in praise of Clermont County’s DUI Court, the first of its kind in Ohio.

Evolving from the highly successful concept of drug courts, the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, together with the Ohio Supreme Court, Department of Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services, and Office of Criminal Justice Services began studying the feasibility of DUI courts in Ohio in 2004. Clermont County is the first of that ensuing three-year program. Athens and Summit Counties have also now started DUI courts.

According to the National Drug Court Institute, there are 86 DWI courts and 90 DWI/drug courts in the country. A national database of these and background on the concept is available on their site.

Additionally, for those interested, the National Center for State Courts published two articles on this developing DUI court trend, in 2002 and 2004, for more background information.