As people gathered at the United Church of Chapel Hill on Tuesday afternoon, cheers, waves and hugs often met each person who walked into the space. The atmosphere felt like a family reunion, with people from across the local criminal justice system turning up to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Community Resource Court in Orange County and 20th anniversary of its work in Chatham County.
Described as a mental health court and jail diversion program, Community Resource Court was started when the judges of District 15B realized they spent much of their time hearing cases of minor crimes where treatable mental illness was a factor. Judge Beverly Scarlett said she remembered her colleague, Judge Joe Buckner, heard of a similar model in Florida meant to break the cycle of recidivism.
“Just imagine a quarter – sometimes a third – of your district court docket being filled with people who are there for reasons other than criminal intent,” Scarlett told 97.9 The Hill. “You have this case, you have to process each one of them…when you start talking to the defendant, you recognize, ‘this isn’t about intent.’”
Eventually, the local court system teamed up with social workers and Orange County’s law enforcement departments to create an alternative system. If a defendant is charged with a criminal offense, has a mental health diagnosis or history of mental illness, and passes a required screening for the voluntary program, they can enter the CRC. From there, a minimum six-month treatment plan is made – including taking any prescribed medications – and the defendant must come to court monthly to discuss their treatment and recovery process.
The celebratory tone of Tuesday’s party was not unlike the tone of the Community Resource Court sessions, when the defendants check in with the judicial and social work team. While the topics are often serious, the goal of the sessions is for all the members to be supportive to the defendant – a therapeutic exercise more than a punitive one. That’s because everyone there, including the person in rehabilitation, has the same goal in mind: helping that person improve their mental state and reach a healthy baseline. The program has earned the nickname “Clapping Court,” because each session begins with the court applauding the participant – not only for any progress they are making, but simply for showing up and choosing to take part in a form of rehabilitation.
Caroline Ginley was one of the social workers who joined CRC in 2005 to start the Chatham County efforts. Now, she is the program manager and clinical instructor at the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health, which helps operate the CRC. Between the three court sessions a month, Ginley says she screens new clients for the program and connects with treatment providers to build a network to help defendants.
“For me to be able to walk alongside someone while they’re going through maybe one of their toughest times,” she said, “I feel very grateful – because I feel like that’s part of their recovery journey. if I can be any positive for folks, a stabilizing person for them, being there for them with no judgement, that’s really what I want to try and do.”
Lewis Fadely, an attorney and Siler City Commissioner who has worked with CRC, answers a question during a panel at the anniversary party on Tuesday. Retired Judge Joe Buckner (standing), Caroline Ginley, Retired Judge Beverly Scarlett and Judge Samantha Cabe also participate. (Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
When starting the alternative court, Bucker said his perspective was that the judicial system is not meant to prosecute people for being sick or punishing them for not being well. He said the project was born with the goal of trying to help people get healthy, productive outcomes as they go through assisted rehabilitation. And the result is a more functional judicial system, law enforcement operations, and community while also maintaining public safety.
“Our district attorney’s office has veto power,” Buckner said of defendants’ selection for CRC. “If they deem you’re a threat to public safety and not appropriate, there is no right of entry. On the other side of that, there’s no requirement for the defendant to participate. If they feel like they’ve got a good defense, a due process argument, whatever…there’s nothing [requiring them to get treatment]. It is offered to them, and as long as it is acceptable to our gatekeeper, the district attorney, and the defense attorney thinks it’s a good idea, they can participate.
“So now,” he concluded, “you’ve got a willing collaboration for a positive outcome from both directions.”
Buckner and Scarlett are now each retired from serving as district court judges, but those elected to the roles continue to carry on their mission. Judge Hathaway Pendergrass, who joined the bench in 2020, said it reaffirms his belief in how the justice system can help its community members.
“When I’m in there as a judge, it’s one of my favorite courts to sit in because you can make such a difference in providing access to services and support – whether it’s just saying, ‘Good morning, I hope you’re doing well,” and just [providing] that day-to-day check-in that a lot of community members don’t have.”
When Judge Samantha Cabe was first elected in 2016, the program was well-established. Learning about its history and seeing it in action, she said it was abundantly clear this was possible because of the local governments’ and community’s willingness to invest in this different approach. And, Cabe added, it is continuing to inform how they fund other programs too.
“I think it’s a testament to our community and this program that it’s really helped blossom other programs,” she said. “Our crisis response units within our law enforcement, the criminal justice resource department within Orange County, [the crisis diversion facility planned for Hillsborough], and all of those things are doing the same work and serving the same populations.”
Even after more than two decades of operations, Scarlett said the idea of Community Resource Court is occasionally met with skepticism. She said it often stems from concern about costs – although she’s quick to point out Orange County started it without any dedicated funds too – or whether the defendants are able to overcome their challenges. But the retired judge said the changes happen, in part, because of the commitment to helping the individual. When she was in the court, she would share her own experiences of taking daily medication and make pacts with the defendants to maintain daily routines. Now, she has many stories of running into rehabilitated participants of CRC around the community and seeing the result of their collective work.
“My heart will always be in it,” Scarlett said of that mission, “because I have lived it, I have experienced it, I have seen it the entire time as a prosecutor as a judge…and it makes our whole community safer, better. Like I said [during the event], every community should have it.”
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