TREATMENT COURTS
As presiding judge of the Judicial Diversion Program, DWI Court and Veterans Court between 2013 and 2018, Judge DeMarco oversaw in excess of 1000 matters each calendar year. In December of 2018 Judge DeMarco established the first Opioid Court in Monroe County designed to save hundreds of lives. In 2016, Judge DeMarco was appointed to serve as the Supervising Judge of the Treatment Courts for the 7th Judicial District: a position he currently holds.
OVERVIEW
In or about 1995, Rochester became the first city in New York State and fifth in the nation to establish a Drug Treatment Court. Since its inception, the Rochester Treatment Courts have been a leader in the expansion and implementation of drug courts into daily court operations throughout the country.
Today, 25 years later, there are near 3500 treatment courts worldwide, and Rochester Treatment Courts are recognized as the gold standard against which other programs are compared. Retired Rochester City Court Judge John Schwartz was the founder of these Courts.
Similarly, the Rochester Veterans Court was the ninth of its kind established in the United States in 2009. The Court was established by Retired County Court Judge Patricia Marks. Today there are over 350 Veterans Courts nationwide.
Judge DeMarco was honored in 2012 and again in 2013 when Judges Schwartz and Marks respectively selected him to take over operations of these courts and insuring the future growth, leadership and success for which these courts are known.
Judge John DeMarco champions the Veterans Treatment Court
Judge DeMarco presided over Veterans Treatment Court from 2013 to 2018. He was appointed the Supervising Judge for the Treatment Courts of the 7th Judicial District in 2016 and continues to serve in that capacity.
The Opioid Crisis
Local data collected from the Rochester Drug Treatment Court found that Monroe County experienced a 145% increase in overdose deaths from 69 in 2015 to 169 in 2016. Opioid overdoses continued to rise in 2017, accounting for 220 deaths and within the first six months of 2018 there have been 566 reported overdoses, 85 of which resulted in fatalities. Judge DeMarco recognized that the Treatment Courts were uniquely situated to be at the forefront of the community response to decrease the risk of death.