Justice Speaks Podcast Episode #52

In this episode, Justice Speaks continues a series about State Treatment Court Associations.  This episode is sponsored by Reconnect.  In this episode, we interview Judge Cristina Jaramillo (Ret.) representing the New Mexico Drug Court Professionals Association (NMADCP) and discuss New Mexico Treatment Courts.

Leadership in NMADCP  

Judge Jaramillo is the current president of NMADCP. She has been president for the past 10 years which makes her one of the longest serving state association presidents.  

Judge Jaramillo has recently retired from the circuit court (general jurisdiction)  bench where she served  as a drug court judge. She shared how her experience as a public defender  led to her involvement in the creation of one of the first DWI/Drug Courts in the country. She discussed how her experience  as a public defender give her some unique insights about Treatment Courts. In the course of the discussion she talked about how New Mexico has been a leading state in starting different types of Treatment Courts.

Judge Jaramillo explains that she became involved with NMADCP around 2001 and eventually became its president. She described how the Association leadership mirrors the justice professionals that make up team members involved in Treatment Courts. So, it has an executive board representing different parts of the state and professions.

NMADCP’s Focused on Training

Judge Jaramillo then discussed how any individual working in a Drug or Treatment Court is considered to be a member of the Association. She described the activities of NMADCP, and how it is mainly focused on providing training and support to its members. This training is done in part by organizing an annual conference.  She mentioned that they are working on the first alumni association conference to be held in May 2023. She  also talked about how COVID created challenges to organizing in-person conferences which has led to increased costs.  The Association is working to restart its in-person conference as she believes virtual conferences limit networking opportunities.

Successes and Challenges of NMADCP

Judge Jaramillo discussed the accomplishments and challenges of the New Mexico Treatment Courts program. She talked about the financial aspect of the program and the difficulty of providing resources to both rural and urban areas.  She explains that New Mexico’s population tends to either be urban or rural with little in-between.  This raises some unique challenges for Treatment Courts. 

Judge Jaramillo focuses on the future of NMADCP and Treatment Courts in New Mexico, including the need for a stable funding source through grants and the importance of creating policies and procedures to address turnover and ensure continuity.  She also expressed the association’s interest in being part of a team that helps courts improve and rise up in the certification process.  

Finally, Judge Jaramillo expects NMADCP to continue to grow and for the Specialty Courts to become more uniform in their practices.  

We wish to thank Judge Jaramillo for sharing their unique experiences with NMADCP and Treatment Courts in New Mexico.  We also wish to thank Reconnect for sponsoring this podcast episode.

Additional Resource

You can also watch this interview by going to the Justice Speakers Institutes’ YouTube Channel or by clicking HERE.