SCRC is presided over by the Honorable Lee Wilson. The Shelby County Recovery Court is an alternative program that targets non-violent adult offenders with drug-related criminal charges.

The program works in four phases. Offenders are placed into an intensive out-patient program which requires they report back to the Court, where the Judge personally reviews their progress. Program components include:

Voluntary participation
A 12–18-month sentence into the program
Outpatient and inpatient treatment are available.
Mandatory random drug testing
Attendance at treatment sessions
Attendance at self-help meetings
Sanctions for non-compliance
Assessments for substance use
Participation in other programs as deemed necessary by the Recovery Court team which may include family/individual counseling, mental health counseling, GED/Job readiness, life-skills/ parenting sessions, anger management classes or other programs designed to assist the individual in returning to society as a productive citizen.

The Judge gets to know each client and works closely with the treatment providers and the Recovery Court team to keep clients engaged in treatment.

The award-winning Drug Court has demonstrated an approximately 20 percent recidivism rate in comparison to the 80 percent recidivism rate of non-drug court participants. These results have had a significant impact on the reduction of crime, reduction in jail overcrowding, and savings of taxpayer dollars. The program has afforded treatment to those who may otherwise have had no opportunity for treatment and, most importantly, has returned productive citizens to the community and to their families and friends.

The court is one of the first State Certified Treatment Courts in Tennessee, certified since 2008. In 2003 the court was named a “Mentor Court” by the National Drug Court Association. Of the more than 1,200 drug courts in the country, fewer than 100 courts have held that honor.

SCDC was founded by Judge Tim Dwyer in 1994. He presided over the court for 25 years.

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