Judge Kelly Luther says overseeing drug court is the best part of his job

Circuit Judge J. Kelly Luther visited with friends Tuesday evening at a gathering in New Albany hosted by District 14 State Representative Sam Creekmore IV.

Judge Luther has been elected to two terms as a judge of the Third Circuit Court District. He is seeking a third term in the general election next Tuesday, November 8.  By the end of the year he will have served a total of 32 years as a prosecutor or judge in the Third District, which includes Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Lafayette, Marshall, Tippah and Union counties. This is a non-partisan election with candidates running without political party affiliation.

Judge Luther says his favorite role as a circuit judge is helping people successfully complete the “drug court” program. Drug court is a highly structured system in which drug offenders work directly with the court to complete a rehabilitation plan and stay off of illegal drugs. People in the program report regularly to the judge over-seeing their case. The objective is to get drug offenders off of drugs and started on building productive lives.

“Drug court is the part of my job where I get to see real results,” said Judge Luther.

The judge said he recently attended a youth sports event in which parents were watching as their children played flag football. “I had put several of those parents through drug court,” he said. “When they started drug court many of them didn’t even have custody of their children. It was the best time I had had in 20 years — watching those folks watch their children play football. They had recovered from drug abuse, were employed, enjoying productive lives, supporting their families, watching them play football.”