Volume I, No. 1 Premier Issue
The following information was contributed by Howard Finkelstein and Douglas Brawley, Chief Assistant Public Defenders in the Broward County Office of the Public Defender.

Howard Finkelstein and Governor Lawton Chiles

On June 16, 1997,Broward County led the nation in forming America’s first Mental Health Court.The County Court, which is presided over by Broward County Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, will include only misdemeanor defendants. The existence of the court acknowledges the need to treat mentally ill defendants before a judge who is not only specially trained but also who can move defendants from an over- crowded jail system into a mental health system without compromising public safety.

More than one in every ten defendants appearing in magistrate court each day are mental health consumers. Shane Gunderson, Intake Director of the Broward County Public Defenders Office, reports that this number may be as high as one in every five for those defendants charged with domestic violence.

The Court was created to stop the revolving door that causes mentally ill people to spin in and out of the criminal justice system. In the past, mentally ill people who were arrested for nothing more than the manifestation of their mental illness (i.e., acting crazy) would languish and deteriorate in jail for long periods of time for crimes that a non-mentally ill person would spend only a night in jail for.

Part of the problem was created when, in the name of liberality and humanitarianism, we deinstitutionalized the mentally ill with the understanding that the monies used to treat the institutionalized patient would follow them into the community. This did not happen and as a result we freed the mentally ill from our hospitals only to incarcerate them in our jails.

The problem is growing in size and severity. The legislature and the public are less willing to recognize their responsibility to take care of the sick and the infirm. Accordingly, each year seems to bring less money to handle this growing problem.

Doug Brawley
The court was created out of necessity, due to the failure of health system to adequately treat and monitor mentally ill persons who found themselves in the criminal justice system. The court was created through the hard work, commitment, vision and union of the Judiciary,

State Attorney’s Office, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and Henderson Clinic. Circuit Court Judge Mark Speiser created the committee that spearheaded the development of this court as well as provide a forum to solve many key issues effecting the mentally ill.

Our hope is that we can begin to alleviate some of the unnecessary suffering that the criminal justice system has in the past heaped on the mentally ill.

We hope to turn the courtroom into a safe harbor where the mentally ill can be shown the door to treatment rather than the jail. We hope to spotlight the paucity of treatment in the community and cause an outcry that will spark an interest in creating the treatment programs for the mentally ill that the law mandates as a matter of right, which up until now have been denied them. In short, we hope to become part of the solution rather than continuing to be part of the problem. Please join us.

NEWS FLASH

The Honorable Alan Schreiber,The Public Defender of Broward County, has been a moving force in the implementation of a Mental Health Court in Broward County.

IMPORTANT
MENTAL HEALTH COURT NUMBERS

JUDGE LERNER-WREN 831-7240
PUBLIC DEFENDERS 831-8690
STATE ATTY 831-8446

STATE ATTORNEY PERSPECTIVE
KRISTEN RAYBON, A.S.A. SUPERVISOR

In the interest of the protection of the community the State Attorney’s Office of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, on behalf of the people of the State of Florida agreed to participate in the first ever court devoted to the misdemeanant mental health consumer, which began in June.

By cooperating with the goals of Mental Health Court, the State Attorneys Office, along with the Public Defender’s Office and the Honorable Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, has been able to make a genuine effort toward ending the revolving door traditionally associated with the punishment of misdemeanor offences committed by the mentally ill. The court has as its main goal the stable treatment of the offenders instead of the penal non-treatment of jail. As a result the State is satisfied that the misdemeanor offenders are being connected with resources that exist in the community and that they are being stabilized and intensely monitored. With the help of Greg Forster of Henderson Mental Health Clinic, long-term treatment plans involving the various aspects of treatment deemed necessary are coordinated to try to keep the defendant "on track" in the community instead of turned out of the jail after each new arrest, only to re-offend, beginning the process again. As a result the State is confident that the misdemeanor offenders are being monitored closely, inhibiting the likelihood of multiple offenses, thus insuring the protection of the community.

Although still in its infancy, the Mental Health Court promises to be a viable alternative to jail for the non-violent misdemeanor offender. The State Attorneys Office is looking forward to increased results as the community resources become more and more accessible and accessed. In turn, we also look forward to working with each of you.

MISSION STATEMENT

Drafted by Judge Gary R. Cowart when he was a Chief Assistant Public Defender for the Honorable Alan H. Schreiber, Public Defender.

MISSION

"THE MISSION OF THE MENTAL HEALTH COURT IS TO ADDRESS THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF THE MENTALLY ILL IN OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM"

PURPOSE

"THE PURPOSE OF THE MENTAL HEALTH COURT IS TO INSURE THAT MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE ARE TREATED WITH DIGNITY AND PROVIDED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY FOR TREATMENT WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PROTECTING THE PUBLIC’S SAFETY"

GOALS

*CREATE EFFECTIVE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE JUSTICE AND MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS
*ENSURE EFFECTIVE LEGAL ADVOCACY FOR THE MENTALLY ILL DEFENDANT
*DETERMINE THE MOST EFFECTIVE AND LEAST RESTRICTIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS AVAILABLE
*MONITOR THE DELIVERY AND RECEIPT OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND TREATMENT
*SOLICIT PARTICIPATION FROM CONSUMERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS IN COURT DECISIONS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
*DIVERT MENTALLY ILL DEFENDANTS WITH NON-CRIMINAL OR MINOR CRIMINAL CHARGES TO COMMUNITY BASED MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS

MESSAGE FROM THE JUDGE
BY JUDGE LERNER-WREN

As a person who cares very much about the law and about persons with disabilities I wanted to thank Chief Judge Dale Ross, Judge Mark Speiser and all the members of the Mental Health Task Force for taking, as Howard Finkelstein likes to say, "The Leap of Faith" in establishing this innovative and much needed division.

The area of Mental Health Law takes into account many elements and disciplines outside that of the law. It is a dynamic area of the law, which because of its unique nature, allows for a judicial approach which is both humanistic and therapeutic.

It entails an application of the law known as "Therapeutic Jurisprudence" which utilizes the Courts as a therapeutic agent balancing treatment needs against those of Public Safety and of course the individual’s constitutional rights. From a Judicial perspective each case is exciting and a great challenge. For the record, under the theory of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, public safety concerns are always given the greatest weight.

Since starting the Court on June 16, 1997 letters and inquiries about the new division have been coming in from all over the country as news of the division spreads. I look forward to the evolution, growth and success of this program as we work towards the administration of justice to some of our most challenged citizens.