09/23/2026
🎉 HAPPY BIRTHDAY & HAPPY 10 YEARS, JUDGE HIGHTOWER! 🎉
Today we’re wishing Judge Dustin W. Hightower a very Happy Birthday! Join us in giving Judge Hightower a special shoutout and helping make his day a great one!
And today marks more than his birthday, we’re also honoring an incredible milestone: 10 years of dedicated service as an Accountability Court Judge!
We couldn’t let 10 years pass without making sure Judge Hightower knew how much his crew appreciates him! At the 2026 CACJ Annual Training Conference, our team honored “The Captain of the Ship” with a special 10-year plaque and gathered for a big team dinner to recognize a decade of leadership, dedication, and lives impacted through Accountability Court. Judge Hightower is always quick to give credit to his crew, so this time, the crew wanted to make sure the Captain got a little credit too!
While many know him from behind the bench, some of the best examples of his leadership happen well beyond the courtroom. Judge Hightower believes accountability should build character, responsibility, and a life someone can be proud of. You’ll find him serving community service right alongside participants, teaching that giving back isn’t simply a sanction, it’s an opportunity to contribute to the community they are rebuilding their lives in. His goal has never been simply helping someone make good decisions while they are in Drug Court, but teaching them how to make those decisions for themselves long after they leave us.
And nothing makes him prouder than seeing that happen. Whether it’s restored families, careers, or running into former participants successfully living their lives, he genuinely celebrates their victories. He has even gotten a little choked up when a participant proudly showed him a non-controlled prescription they intentionally chose with their doctor because protecting their recovery had become their decision. That’s the goal, when what we teach becomes how they choose to live.
That same leadership extends to his team. He has built a multidisciplinary team where every discipline has a voice, intentionally hearing from each of us before making decisions, trusting our expertise, setting high expectations, and caring about our professional fulfillment and personal well-being. When a participant urgently needs help, he makes himself available for his Team, even for a 7:00 PM team Zoom call, to ensure we can quickly make the right decision and get that person the level of care they need.
And together, it’s working. Our successful-completion rate has grown from 52% post-COVID to 74%, 76%, and now an incredible 86%, while Carroll County Drug Court has been recognized as a 2026–2028 Model Treatment Court. Those accomplishments belong to participants doing the hard work and an incredible multidisciplinary team. They also reflect the culture of accountability, collaboration, high expectations, and second chances Judge Hightower has spent a decade helping build.
Perhaps what we appreciate most, though, is the man outside the robe: approachable, personable, supportive, and genuinely invested in the people around him. Judge, we appreciate your leadership and your trust in your team, but even more, we appreciate your character and the heart behind what you do. We appreciate his leadership, but even more, we appreciate his character, his heart, and the man he consistently shows himself to be. We are incredibly fortunate to have Judge Hightower leading our team and Drug Court program.
Happy Birthday, Judge Hightower, and congratulations on 10 years of second chances, stronger families, changed lives, and service worth being incredibly proud of! Here’s to 10 years of memories, and 10 more years ahead!
We hope you all enjoy the pictures capturing Judge Hightower's first 10 years serving and presiding over Carroll Count Drug Court!
