News Item
Ramsey County DWI and Mental Health Treatment Courts Celebrate 20th Anniversary
Posted: Friday, April 11, 2025
The Ramsey County DWI and Mental Health Treatment Courts marked their 20th Anniversary with a celebration at the main courthouse in St. Paul on Friday, April 11. Graduates offered stories of how the courts helped change their lives, and members of the Second Judicial District, Supreme Court, and partner organizations offered words of support and encouragement.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this important milestone with the community,” said Ramsey County Chief Judge Sara Grewing. “These two treatment courts have changed the lives of 673 people who have participated in the programs over the past two decades, their families, and their communities—that is something not only to celebrate but also to be incredibly proud of.”
The Ramsey County DWI Court began in January 2005 as a collaboration between the courts and the St. Paul City Attorney’s Office to handle gross misdemeanor offenses. Eventually, it grew to include the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and felony-level charges.
The Mental Health Treatment Court started as a docket on the Community Court calendar in May 2005 to assist low-level repeat offenders, but over the years grew into its own court that partners with the county and city to assist more serious offenders.
“Treatment courts focus on what the justice system should be about: rehabilitation of the offender and the community he or she impacted,” said DWI Court Presiding Judge Timothy Mulrooney. “In treatment court, we dig into the root of the problem and, through evidence-based practices, target those behaviors and create change in a meaningful way.”
Treatment courts do this by leading a multidisciplinary team of professionals to collaboratively assist offenders whose criminal acts are driven by substance abuse, mental illness, or a combination of the two. Services can include chemical dependency and mental health treatment, trauma counseling, employment training assistance, housing assistance, and transportation support. The program typically lasts 15-to-24 months, during which time the team works with participants through challenges and successes. Participants may be removed from the program if they do not comply with its requirements or if they reoffend.
“Although we focus on holistic treatment, this is not an easy path: we absolutely hold participants accountable,” said Mental Health Court Presiding Judge Timothy Carey. “The goal is treatment so that we break the cycle of arrest, conviction, release, and re-arrest.”
One unique aspect of the Ramsey County DWI Court is the Pay It Forward Project. Prior to their graduation from the program, participants must do something to give back to their community. Recent graduates have bought groceries for needy people and organized a coat drive for the homeless. Participants then explain to the Court why they chose their particular project and what it meant to them.
“By engaging offenders in the community throughout their time in treatment court, we create space for them to successfully re-join their community when they’ve finished with the program,” said Treatment Court Coordinator Jesse Coulson. “By the time they graduate from treatment court, participants have hopefully not only healed themselves, but also begun to repair the harm they caused to the community.”