WILMINGTON — Ohio Supreme Court Justice Sharon L. Kennedy, who has been a member of the state’s highest court since 2012, will be the featured speaker at the fourth graduation ceremony of the You-Turn Recovery Docket at 7 p.m. Friday, June 1 at the Wilmington Church of Christ.
“We are pleased that Justice Kennedy is willing to take time from her busy schedule to address the graduates, participants and supporters of our drug court,” said Clinton County Common Pleas Judge John W. “Tim” Rudduck, who established the specialized docket within his court in 2014.
The event, which is open to the public, will celebrate the successes of the graduates as well as the progress of the other participants in the specialized docket. The local drug court is certified by the Ohio Supreme Court, and focuses on the rehabilitation and recovery of offenders addicted to alcohol, drugs or both.
“This achievement marks a new day for these graduates,” Justice Kennedy said. “The road to recovery is often long and difficult, and it is no small feat to have come this far. I hope this celebration demonstrates that there are people around them who will encourage them, support them, and always believe that they have the power to write a new story.”
Prior to her election to the high court, Kennedy served at the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division, beginning in 1999, and as administrative judge of that division from 2005 until December 2012.
In 1991, after obtaining her law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Kennedy ran a small business of her own as a solo practitioner. While in private practice she served the legal needs of families, juveniles, and the less fortunate.
As special counsel for Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery, Kennedy fought on behalf of Ohio’s taxpayers to collect monies due the State of Ohio. As a part-time magistrate in the Butler County Area Courts, Kennedy presided over a wide array of civil litigation and assisted law enforcement officers and private citizens seeking the issuance of criminal warrants for arrest.
Justice Kennedy began her career in the justice system as a police officer at the Hamilton Police Department.
More information can be found about Kennedy, the Ohio Supreme Court and specialized dockets at www.sconet.state.oh.us .
The Wilmington Church of Christ is located at 909 West Locust Street in Wilmington.
Names of the graduates and more details about the ceremony will be forthcoming, Rudduck said.
For more information on the local recovery docket, please visit www.you-turn-drug-docket.org, follow it on Facebook at You-Turn Recovery Docket, like it on Twitter at You-Turn@UturnDrugDocket, or contact supervision officer KáShira Myburgh at 937-382-8686, ext. 1137, or by email at [email protected] .
