Judge Harry Powazek agreed to have his picture taken for this story only if it could be shot near the wall of photos in his office of his drug-court graduates. “Read some of what they wrote,” he says, gesturing to the mat portion of the framed pictures where graduates signed their names and included words of thanks. Powazek knows each person’s story—why they ended up in jail and what they went through during drug court’s rigorous 18-month program, which promises a clean slate in exchange for showing up for counseling programs, finding a job (or performing community service) and staying off drugs.
