Mike Wolanin | The Republic Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton gives introductions during the Bartholomew County Veterans Treatment Court graduation ceremony in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 at the Bartholomew County Courthouse in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, May 12, 2022.
Bartholomew County is in the final planning stages of creating a Mental Health Court that, if approved by the state, will become the fourth problem-solving court in Columbus.
The others include Adult Drug Court, supervised by Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin, and Family Dependency Court, overseen by Bartholomew County Juvenile Magistrate Brittney Newland Long and the Veterans Court, overseen by Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton.
All four courts are intended to provide an alternative to the traditional court system by emphasizing a problem-solving model, as well as connect defendants to a variety of rehabilitative services and support networks, according to the Indiana Office of Court Services website.
Worton is leading the effort to establish the Mental Health Court, saying mental health affects almost every family one way or another. Too many families have no idea of what to do with a loved one with a mental illness, especially after they become involved in the criminal justice system, Worton said.
“The court would provide a lot of structure and extra supervision for that individual that our standard criminal justice system doesn’t do,” he said.
Mental Health Court has the support of Bartholomew County Chief Deputy Sheriff Maj. John Martoccia, who served six-and-a-half years as jail commander.
Once the community starts to look at the individual reasons for why a person is in jail and address them, “it becomes a ‘win-win’ for the entire community, Martoccia said.
“You can’t just address them as a group,” the chief deputy said. “If you look at what each individual needs to stay out of jail, I don’t see how you can lose at that.”
There have already been several mental health professionals who have called Worton to express their support of the program, he said.
There will be an organizational meeting of the new court’s core team on Aug. 30 to finalize certain standards and procedures. Core team members are typically members of the justice system, mental health providers and other support systems. State judicial officials will also be on hand to assist the core team in starting a pre-certification process, with referrals being made as early as this fall, Worton said.
While mental health patients are sometimes stigmatized by society, Worton says he feels confident Bartholomew County residents will support a Mental Health Court — just as long as they don’t perceive it as a ‘get-out-of-jail’ card.
Eligibility
In order to be accepted into the new court, the defendant has to first volunteer, Worton said. The next step would be undergoing tests to confirm that, despite a serious mental illness, he or she is legally competent, he said. Finally, a decision must be made that Mental Health Court would be the most appropriate way to help the individual, he said.
However, Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay has absolute veto power to keep a defendant out of the program, Worton said.
Mental Health Court is not for those who suffer psychiatric problems due to drug addiction, Worton said. The only way he would admit a person who has committed domestic violence into the program is if the victim requests it, he said.
The new court is intended for low-to-mid level offenders who have committed non-violent crimes or non-sexual offenses primarily due to a mental illness, Worton said. The program’s goal is to try and stop a person from making additional offenses and be placed back into jail with multiple charges, he said.
How it works
If the person is accepted into the program, the team would begin hearings with that individual every other week or potentially every week, depending on how many people are in the program, Worton said. Team members will participate in developing a judicially-supervised treatment plan specifically for each volunteer.
The defendant will be monitored multiple times a week by a case manager whose duties include making sure the participant has shelter, has household necessities, is taking their medication as prescribed and following the treatment plan, the judge said.
Worton says he has often seen defendants with a mental illness commit one minor offense, get out of jail, and commit additional offenses.
The ultimate goal of mental health court is to give participants enough resources and tools to live a fairly normal life and stay out of jail, he said.
A person accepted into the program will be making a maximum two-year commitment, according to Worton.
“Some will be longer and some shorter, depending on the circumstances,” the judge said. “We will establish that range based on different recommendations we receive from other courts before we finalize them.
In most Mental Health Courts, a participant is required to stay with the program even after their sentence has expired.
While in the program, a participant will be required to follow all rules and meet every requirement listed in different phases, Worton said. A series of incentives and sanctions are used to help modify behavior, the judge said.
If the individual does not fulfill requirements, he or she might have to start all over again or be removed from the program, he said.
Challenges
One of the most challenging aspects of a Mental Illness Court identified by Worton is finding the right medication or combination of psychotropic drugs that produce little to no side effects. Each person has a different reaction to different drugs, he said.
“For some people, the wrong medication can just set them on fire,” Worton said.
But a slightly different prescription drug might work perfectly for them, the judge said. But not indefinitely. The right drug may work for a period of time, but eventually have no beneficial effect, the judge said.
Compared to the other problem-solving courts, public recognition of successful participants may have to be toned down because mental illness is considered a medical condition and therefore subject to federal privacy laws.
In preparation, Worton and others involved with the courts have visited mental health courts in neighboring Johnson County, as well as in Porter and Monroe counties.
The group also went to Kentucky to observe an assisted outpatient treatment court that Bartholomew Superior Court II Judge Jon Rohde is considering, Worton said.
