Desmond Causey-Jones was just 10 minutes into his Recovery Court session this month, when he had to speak up.
"I apologize for interrupting, but our daughter's coming out," he told Judge Jeffrey Waldman on Dec. 17.
Causey-Jones was in the bathroom of his girlfriend's hospital room at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point.
His probation officer knew Causey-Jones' girlfriend, Niciaya Jones, had been in labor for two days, and had given him permission to skip the session.
But Causey-Jones went on anyway.
"I knew, regardless, I was going to go on there, just to show my face," he said. "Especially during the pandemic, you gotta show your face on there so they know you're doing alright."
About 35 minutes after her dad signed off, Jade Aaliyah Ruth Jones was born.
While nearly 800 babies have been born to those participating in the state's drug court since 1996, Jade's arrival was a special one.
"This was meaningful on a number of levels," Waldman said. "First, this participant has taken his recovery so seriously that when offered a pass from his court session, he decided to participate, nonetheless.
"On a more personal level, we as a Recovery Court team, are flattered that, of anyone he could have possibly chosen to bring into the delivery area with him, he chose us," the judge added. "It was moving beyond belief to all of us who were there."
Being a father is what helped inspire Causey-Jones to change his life.
The 25-year-old Wildwood man first got into trouble as a teen after his father was killed 13 years ago.
Causey-Jones started selling drugs and became addicted to alcohol. He was arrested for possessing and distributing heroin.
It was his middle child — his 5-year-old son — who inspired him to work hard at his recovery.
"My son changed me because, when my father got murdered, I was basically roaming the streets by myself," he said. "No guidance. No nothing like that. And I don't want my son growing up without a father."
Now almost three years' sober, Causey-Jones said Recovery Court taught him, among other things, to consider the consequences of his decisions.
"I enjoy going on there," he said of his sessions. "You get to talk a lot and get stuff off your chest.”
Causey-Jones wants his legacy to his children to be knowledge, not a street name or criminal record.
“Drug court’s always been on my side,” he said. “They never gave up on me and I appreciate drug court for that.”
