Hamilton municipal court chosen for state drug‑court pilot; judge reports strong early results

Hamilton Township’s municipal court told the mayor and council on April 4 that the court has been selected as one of six New Jersey municipal sites for a state-funded drug court pilot and that early indicators are promising.

Judge Louis SanSanito, who introduced himself for the record, said the state appropriated $2,000,000 from the Purdue Pharma opioid settlement for six municipal-court pilots statewide and that Hamilton—within Mercer County—was chosen. "Out of those 500 municipal courts in the state of New Jersey... they chose Hamilton Township for the pilot program," SanSanito said.

Program progress and results: the judge reported that the program began sessions in January and provided enrollment numbers. "As of the March, we had 42 people who had been admitted into the program. Of the 42, 32 are doing extremely well," he said, characterizing the early retention and engagement as beyond expectations.

Program design and eligibility: SanSanito said the pilot targets people with drug charges but the state allowed the program’s expansion to include some low-level, drug-related offenders not otherwise criminally charged (for example, certain shoplifting cases tied to substance use) so they can access treatment resources even without a charge to be dismissed upon completion.

Court operations and related services: the municipal court is pairing monthly court sessions (the judge described a recurring DWI-focused session, sometimes referred to as a 'DWI blitz') with community counseling partners, volunteers and outreach organizations; SanSanito credited groups such as Women's Place for victim counseling and named program counselors ("Mister Alexander," "Mister Dean," and "Miss Braun") working with the court.

Funding and sustainability: the judge told councilors the state pilot's appropriation covers program costs and said the program "is not costing the township any money," while acknowledging council members’ concern that the state could expect municipalities to assume financial responsibility if the pilot is scaled up and the state did not continue full funding.

Next steps: councilors asked about the pilot’s duration and whether the township would bear costs if the state adopted the model more broadly; SanSanito said the state hadn’t provided a fixed end date and suggested the pilot might run roughly a year, with more clarity expected as the state observes outcomes.

Ending: the court committed to continued reporting on the pilot’s metrics and to working with council and staff on any budgetary implications should the state expand the program.