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'Smarter Justice' topic of Keystone breakfast lecture

by Mark Schwerin

Oct. 20, 2011 | WMU News

KALAMAZOO--The success of a Kalamazoo substance abuse rehabilitation program will come into sharper focus when a retired judge speaks as part of the Keystone Community Bank Breakfast Speaker Series at Western Michigan University.

The Honorable William Schma, retired Kalamazoo County Ninth Circuit Court judge and president of the Drug Treatment Court Foundation, will discuss how the program has transformed the lives of more than 540 men and women since the program's inception in 1992. His presentation, titled "Drug Treatment Courts: Smarter Justice," is free and open to the public.

The event begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 28, in the Dean's Conference Room of Schneider Hall. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Haworth College of Business Dean's Office at (269) 387-6059. Parking is available in the nearby Fetzer Center parking lot.

Schma served as a Kalamazoo County Circuit Court judge from his appointment in 1987 until his retirement in 2007. He has lectured, published articles and law reviews and made numerous presentations on substance abuse and criminal justice, drug treatment courts, therapeutic jurisprudence and problem-solving courts.

He is a founding member of the National Association for Drug Court Professionals and served as the first president of the Michigan Association of Drug Court Professionals. He received the Founders Award and the Stanley M. Goldstein Award from the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and earned The Champion of Justice Award from the State Bar of Michigan.

Drug Treatment Court uses various methods to help men and women repair their lives through counseling, job training, education and community service projects as opposed to incarceration.

The Keystone Community Bank Breakfast Speaker Series is underwritten by Keystone Community Bank. The series provides an opportunity for the local community to hear top business leaders and WMU faculty, alumni and friends of the Haworth College of Business discuss current business related topics.