JSI VP David J. Wallace Receives Jeff Sauter Treatment Court Award

Saturday, August 24, 2019—Mackinac Island, Michigan.  At the 92^nd Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM) Annual Conference, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and Justice Speakers Institute (JSI) Vice President David J. Wallace was presented with the Jeff Sauter Treatment Court Award. This award is given once a year by the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals (MATCP) at the PAAM Annual Conference to prosecutors or assistant prosecutors who have made outstanding contributions to treatment courts and their participants.  The award recognizes prosecutors who have demonstrated yearlong extraordinary work; who have gone “above and beyond” the normal bounds of duty.

“Jeff Sauter, who the award is named after, was a good friend and mentor of mine,” said Mr. Wallace, “and to be recognized for an award named after him is an extreme honor.”

In the Tri-County area of Huron, Tuscola and Sanilac, in Michigan, the Thumb Regional Sobriety Court works to improve public safety by focusing on drivers who operate vehicles while under the influence of legal and illegal substances.  Mr. Wallace represents Mr. Rutkowski’s office on the Sobriety Court team and he is also the Treasurer for MATCP.  Before returning to prosecution, Mr. Wallace was the Senior Director for the National Center of DWI Courts (NCDC) at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals in Alexandria, Virginia.  He traveled the country training teams to develop DWI Courts, which are called Sobriety Courts in Michigan.

Mr. Wallace noted that: “Throughout my career, I have seen the life-changing work treatment courts bring when we all work together; participant’s lives are changed for the better and the community is made safer.

As the Senior Trial Attorney Mr. Wallace performs a full range of professional assignments in the prosecutor’s office with a focus on Circuit Court matters.  He has been an assistant prosecutor for more than five years in Huron County and has over 25 years of experience as an assistant prosecutor through his employment with other prosecutor offices, including Eaton County, Calhoun County and the Prosecutor’s Association of Michigan (PAAM) in Lansing. After working for 7 years at PAAM, he became the director at the NCDC.  In 2015, he was one of the Founders of JSI and is now its Vice President.