By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
After serving the last five years as the first-ever defense attorney for Ellis County Drug Court, Hays attorney Curtis Brown has stepped down and was recently honored by the court and graduates of the program.
The first week of January marked the last days as Ellis County Drug Court Defense Attorney for Brown before he is set to pursue other career opportunities.
Brown, who signed on to serve as the program's first defense attorney in 2018, was honored with a plaque for his service by Chief Justice of the 23rd Judicial District Glenn Braun last week in front of a courtroom that was packed with Ellis County Drug Court, now Recovery Court, program graduates and participants.
Judge Braun oversees recovery court and celebrated Brown for his work as a founding member of the court, saying he was a key part of getting the court up and running in Ellis County and Brown went above and beyond in his responsibilities.
Brown said in the beginning, he had reservations, but he said seeing members of his family struggle with addiction was the biggest factor in taking part in the program, a decision he said he could not have been happier with.
“It's amazing. It's helped so many people in this in this community,” Brown said. “There are people that would start using, like methamphetamine at the age of 10, and have used for 20 years, and they're able to get sober and have long-term sobriety.
"It not only helps them, but helps the community where community resources aren’t being used on them, or they're not in jail. It just has a whole bigger positive impact than just even that person getting sober. It has a big community impact.”
As the defense attorney for participants of the recovery court, Brown represented program members who might have committed violations. However, as Judge Braun said Brown went above and beyond to help.
“I've helped a lot of them outside of drug court through trying to get their license back or trying to figure out child support or child custody questions or issues that have come up,” Brown said.
Recovery Court Coordinator Teresa Greenwood said as of the beginning of the year, there have been 49 people graduate from the program since it started in 2018 and Brown was a key part of that.
“It’s so hard to describe. When you see somebody that graduates drug court that has lived with addiction for years,” Brown said, “just the smile on their face, it's so rewarding.”
Brown said there is a misconception surrounding the specialty court that the court is easy and the participants are treated with, “kid gloves.” But he said it’s harder than regular probation.
“Drug court, now recovery court, is so hard on these people. They’re so demanding on them,” Brown said. “It is a lot of work for these individuals to get through it.”
Brown said he appreciated the acknowledgment he received and said he doesn’t think everyone involved in recovery court gets enough credit for the work that they do.
“It's really neat working with everybody that's committed to helping these folks,” Brown said, “a lot of agencies coming together.”