The Honorable Gregory Jackson – New Drug Court Judge with a Distinguished Career of Public Service
In January 2013, the Honorable Gregory E. Jackson became the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court Drug Intervention Program – better known as Drug Court. In his first three works, he presided over his first Drug Court status hearing, led his first Drug Court team staffing, and sat for his first Drug Court Commencement and Progression Ceremony. And so began the newest chapter in what has been a distinguished career of public service.
From 1986 to 1999, Judge Jackson served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO). While functioning in various leadership programs at the USAO, he was asked to serve as the USAO liaison to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HITDA) Program in the Metropolitan Police Department’s Third District. Notably, as liaison, he organized the USAO’s participation in a student mentoring program. In 1999, Judge Jackson was appointed General Counsel for the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC), where he received the DOC’s Public Service Award in 2003 and 2004. Judge Jackson was appointed to the District of Columbia Superior Court in 2005 by President George W. Bush.
A native Washingtonian, his commitment to his community is indisputable. That commitment is in full display as he takes the Drug Court helm. Judge Jackson joined Drug Court participants for an intensive outpatient treatment session, explaining that he wanted to get a sense of what the defendant experiences.
The tenor of Judge Jackson’s Drug Court may have been foreshadowed by the words he penned for program participants at his first commencement and progression ceremony. He wrote, “Having served as a prosecutor, general counsel for the Department of Corrections and now as an associate judge, I have confronted issues regarding illegal drugs in our community for many years. In all my years of experience, I have never felt more engaged than now, as the Presiding Judge of Drug Court, in addressing some of these problems.” He concluded with words to the graduates that bode well for the lives of program participants and for the future of Drug Court. “As I observe each of you travel the path to recovery, I find great personal joy in watching you complete the program and graduate. Today is a new day, and each new day is the first day of the rest of your life. Live it well. You deserve it.” PSA joins the District’s criminal justice and treatment communities in welcoming Judge Jackson to Drug Court.
