JUDICIARY EXPANDS DWI SPECIALTY COURT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(September __, 2016) (Guam Judicial Center Hagta, Guam) Led in its
efforts by Presiding Judge Alberto C. Lamorena III, the Judiciary of Guam has
received a grant award to include treatment in its existing DWI docket, thus
creating a DWI Treatment Court program. The funding is from the United
States Department of Justices Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice
Assistance.

With this grant the Judiciary will be able to provide treatment to those charged
with DWI and who struggle with alcoholism or Alcohol Use Disorder.
Statistics show that alcoholism is a major contributing factor to many of the
crimes that we see in our court system. Through treatment of this major
contributing factor we hope to address the root of some of the problems that
plague our justice system and focus on prevention rather than incarceration,
said Presiding Judge Lamorena.
The DWI Treatment Court will provide participants with specialized services
designed to treat alcohol dependency and any co-occurring disorders. Services
will be grounded in evidence-based practices and DWI Treatment Court
program staff will utilize data to identify additional programs and services to
assist the island in reducing DWI cases, which numbered over 2,700 from 2010
to 2015.
The Judiciary of Guam looks forward to implementing the DWI Treatment
Court in collaboration with partners from the Office of the Attorney General,
Public Defender Service Corporation, Alternate Public Defender, Guam Police
Department, and Department of Public Works Office of Highway Safety.
For more information, please contact Clynt Ridgell at 300-7954 or
cridgell@guamcourts.org.
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