Eight graduate from Queens’ treatment court

Queens Criminal Court celebrated the graduates of its treatment court on Friday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

The first time John Fatsis stepped into Queens’ Treatment Court, he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

His drug use had spiraled out of control and had just sent both him and his one-year-old child to the hospital in need of resuscitation.

But after committing what he said was “the most egregious act a man can do,” he was given an opportunity to turn his life around and took it. Last week, the fruits of that effort were on full display in the very courthouse he may have otherwise received prison time in.

On Friday, Fatsis and eight other men and women were recognized and given certificates for graduating from the treatment court at Queens Criminal Court.

The individuals were the latest to graduate from the diversion court where litigants are offered treatment for addiction, mental health or other difficulties in lieu of more traditional criminal court proceedings.

The court, which is presided over by Judge Marica Hirsch, includes the Queens Drug Treatment court, the DWI Treatment Court, the Mental Health Court, the Veterans Court and the Drug Diversion Court.

“For over 30 years now, research shows us that through treatment coursework, participants can successfully complete treatment programs and they can recover from the ravages of drug addiction, reunite with family members, obtain employment or advance their education and become productive members of society,” said Hirsch, who has been at the helm of the court for nearly two decades.

What began with the Drug Treatment Court, has expanded to include the other courts and has helped hundreds of graduates with treatment after their actions landed them before a criminal court judge.

Any misstep throughout the treatment courts’ programs could land a defendant back in more traditional criminal court.

“Their determination, hard work, perseverance, brought them here, and we congratulate them,” Hirsch said of Friday’s graduates.

The six graduates – Fatsis, Maricia Bell, Samuel Cuadrado, Sebastian Edwards, Jason Hildebrand, Krystin Colasanti, Jovani Cardoza, Angelo Padron and Feddy Leon – all finished work in one of Queens’ various treatment courts, sparing them of a criminal conviction and potentially placing them on a better life path.

Hirsch said the participants had come a long way since she first met them.

Edwards is working on a degree in media and audio engineering. Colasanti is finishing a degree in holistic nutrition. Hildebrand recently ran the New York State Marathon.

Fatsis, who was the graduate speaker, solemnly recounted the trip he took to the hospital with his then-one-year-old child. Both were considered dead for several minutes.

Fatsis highlighted the support and faith the court staff and therapists gave him, which allowed him to better manage his emotions, as well as his drug issues.

“I never had a court that was this way,” said Fatsis, who said the court helped him see “a small light at the end of a very, very dark tunnel.”

“I've learned how to take a hold of my mind,” he said.

Fatsis now has gainful employment in the construction industry.

At the graduation, the court also honored Ryan Su, who graduated from the Queens Veterans Court in 2007.

Su, a U.S Army veteran and now a Taxi and Limousine Commission officer, has taken what he gained from the court and turned it into positive actions through community service, Hirsch said.

“Ryan has done a tremendous amount of outreach in his community in Flushing, and we wanted to acknowledge him today for that,” said Hirsch.

Su was also recently honored in Albany for his work, being named to the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame by Senator John Liu.

Su also recognized the court’s role in helping him get to where has gotten to today.

“If not for your support initially, I might not have had an opportunity to stand here today,” he said. “To everyone who has supported me, believed in me and gave me a chance to prove myself – your faith in me has been transformative.

“The path of life is filled with challenges, but these challenges do not define us,” he added. “Every day comes the opportunity for change, for growth and for making a positive impact on the world around us.”

The work done at Queens Treatment Court is not unique to the borough and is done in a number of courthouses across the state.

However, less than half of New York’s counties have treatment courts, something the court’s brass would like to see changed.

“We are beyond committed to expanding these treatment courts around the state,” said Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas, who spoke at the graduation on Friday. “It is truly one of our most important priorities.”

Earlier this year, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson said during his State of the Judiciary address that he believes speciality courts are the way of New York courts’ future.

The courts, Wilson said, inherently force the justice system to expand its definition of justice.

“What could we gain from thinking about all of our courts as problem solving courts?” he said. “Rather than determining what law was broken, who broke it and what the punishment should be, could we foster greater trust in the court system, greater accountability in the community, greater public safety and a better outcome for both the troubled individual and the broader community if, in appropriate cases, we asked who has been affected? What are the needs and responsibilities of all affected persons? And how the harm could best be repaired and future harm avoided?”

Also among the speakers on Friday was another advocate for that push, Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos.

“If only we can just replicate all of these courtrooms in every county in our state so that it can go into the other states,” she said. “That really is the goal.”

“It really is a special and unique place, and it should be common to walk into a courtroom, an institution created to solve conflict, and feel that everyone working here is collaborating towards a helpful and hopeful outcome,” Ramos added.

Ramos is the primary sponsor of the Treatment Not Jails Act, which, among other things, would require that each county in the state have a diversion part.

While the graduates prepared to move on to the next phase of their life on Friday, so too did Hirsch, who will be retiring in December. She’ll be replaced as the presiding judge of the treatment courts by Justice Jessica Earle-Gargan.

Court leaders assured those in attendance Friday that the court’s work will continue, despite Hirsch’s departure.

“We wanted to make sure that we put a judge in place who will take over and understand how important this work is,” said Zayas.