“All Hands On Deck”: A Phenomenological Study Of Lived Experiences Of Drug Treatment Court Judges

Main Article Content

Jennifer Smith Ramey
Fred Milacci
Fred Volk
David Jenkins

Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines the experiences of drug treatment court judges in Virginia relative to their implementation of therapeutic jurisprudence, procedural justice, and working across a multidisciplinary team. Method: A transcendental phenomenological design using semi-structured interviews from nine judges was conducted. Results: The findings were summarized in three themes: judges’ experiences with drug court participants, judges’ experiences with the drug court team, and judges’ experiences as learners. Discussion: Universal themes revealed a lack of training in addiction on the part of the judges and emphasized the role of the judge as key to shaping the culture of the court. Conclusions: The judge serves as the fulcrum for drug treatment court operations, yet most judges do not have the requisite training in addiction science. Recommendations include mandatory judicial training on substance use disorders is important. Further research is needed to offer a theoretical guide to explain the lived experiences of drug treatment court judges.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Smith Ramey, J., Milacci, F., Volk, F., & Jenkins, D. (2024). “All Hands On Deck”: A Phenomenological Study Of Lived Experiences Of Drug Treatment Court Judges. Drug Court Review, 3, 54–74. Retrieved from https://dcr.ntcrc.org/index.php/dcr/article/view/37
Section
Research Article
Author Biography

Jennifer Smith Ramey, Horizon Behavioral Health

Dr. Jennifer Smith Ramey earned her M.S./Ed.S. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Counselor Education in 1996 and her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Liberty University in 2023. She has been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 1999. She has worked with a variety of populations, including adults with serious mental illness and adolescents with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Dr. Smith Ramey is the Principal Investigator for the Bedford Family Treatment Drug Court grant, awarded in 2020. She is the Director of Grants and Programs at Horizon Behavioral Health, a community service board in Lynchburg, Virginia. Dr. Smith Ramey’s research interests include cross-sector collaboration, treatment courts, and implementation of evidence-based practice in community settings. She has published multiple articles on treatment courts in peer-reviewed journals and has trained over 1,000 clinicians and supervisors nationally and internationally in evidence-based addiction treatment models since 2007.