Collaborative Court cuts ribbon in Imperial County
EL CENTRO – Local judges, attorneys, dignitaries and representatives of local organizations gathered in a collaborative spirit to cut the ribbon for the grand opening of the Imperial County Collaborative Justice Court (CJC) program on Tuesday, February 13, at the new Criminal Courthouse here on Wake Avenue.
The event saw a packed and then some room and remarks by the Honorable Judge Marco Nuñez, Honorable Judge Christopher Plourd, and closing remarks by Imperial County District Attorney George Marquez.
“The Imperial County CJC was created in accordance with state laws for alternatives to incarceration and restorative practices to reduce recidivism and enhance public safety,” according to a press release from the District Attorney’s Office.
“The CJC offers three alternative treatment courts for eligible participants: Veterans Court, Drug Court, and Mental Health Court. Eligible participants have the opportunity for intensive supervision and treatment to address underlying issues that are a direct nexus to the criminal conduct, such as combat PTSD, substance use disorders, and mental health disorders,” it reads.
“Collaborative Courts are essentially courts that focus on particular issues that cause crime,” Marquez told IVP in a post-event interview.
The idea, presenters said, is to get the criminal court system to collaborate with organizations in these fields and other related fields to not only better understand why the offender commits crimes, but more importantly to deter them from being re-entering the criminal courts system as a repeat offender without getting treatment for their specific issues in an effort to get them to stop committing the crimes and provide public safety, Marquez said.
“California law grants judicial officers discretionary authority to consider diverting cases involving mental health concerns, drug addiction, and veterans,” Judge Nuñez said during remarks. “The court wholeheartedly is committed to using this authority for the benefit of the community.”
“...there are things that we can do to better that person’s situation,” the Honorable Judge Christopher Plourd said, “...so the idea is to try to – if that person is willing – get them to address that concern so that we can work with the offender, and work with the offender’s family in a collaborative way, and we’ve been able to do that very successfully by getting all the people that have a stake in this particular issue ... to come to our Collaborative Court.”
Plourd said the new collaborative approach and its subsequent wraparound services will help offenders – if they are willing to utilize the help – stay out of the criminal justice system, and possibly out of incarceration.
“All of the individuals who need help not only need medical, behavioral health, psychiatric help, help with substance use disorders and others that are very prevalent, but they also need housing, employment...family counseling and so forth,” Plourd said. “All of these things work together to combat that individual from being a recidivist.”
Nuñez also commented on the role homelessness can play in offenders’ lives.
“Our primary objective is to address the root causes of crime and reduce its occurrence,” Nuñez said, “recognizing that every Collaborate Court initiative requires dedicated champions on both the advocacy and judicial fronts.”
While the Collaborative Courts will help offenders avoid recidivism, Marquez also said it would not be “a get out of jail free card” for those who qualify for the services.
Marquez said the Collaborative Courts are a ‘ smart way to hold non-dangerous criminals accountable.” He also said that Collaborative Courts have been proven to work in other jurisdictions and in other countries, stating that “participants who successfully complete these types of programs have a 58% chance of reducing recidivism” and “it also saves tax dollars because we’re not going to have criminal defendants who are being recycled in and out of the criminal justice system.”
“Just as important, and I truly believe that, is it gives back a person their soul and their dignity,” Marquez said.
“This is a voluntary program, but they have to want to succeed,” he said. “Those persons are going to be given the tools they need to succeed in this program, to be rehabilitated, and to be reintegrated back into the community.”
The DA’s office has “diligently established a robust system,” Nuñez said, coordinating the various county and nonprofit service providers which will work together towards making the Collaborate Court a success.
Some of the entities mentioned that will be collaborating in the new Collaborative Court program are Imperial County Behavioral Health Services, Imperial County Probation, ABC Recovery Center, NAMI San Diego, Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program (IVROP) and Reps4Vets.
“In our community have a number of inneed veterans,” Judge Plourd, who has presided over the pre-existing mental health court in Imperial County, said. “Some of them have mental health concerns ... and we owe it to them to try and help them when they come in contact with the criminal justice system.”
Plourd said the local mental health court will now have a veteran representative on-hand “so that when somebody who is charged with a crime who is a veteran, that person will get a mentor to follow (them) through the court process.”
“All of these things are improvements to what we’ve done in the past,” Plourd said. “It’s done a lot of good so far and it’s going to do a lot more good in the future.”
Plourd said one of the needs to make the Collaborative Court system work in Imperial County is a need to attract more lawyers, “particularly defense lawyers,” to work here locally. DA Marquez said another need would be “mental health professionals to deal with the influx of people who are going to be in this system...mental health clinicians who can diagnose and write reports on mental health indicators.”
Marquez said the DA’s Office will also “dangle a carrot” for the offenders to want to participate and succeed in the Collaborative Courts program, such as felony charges reduced to misdemeanors, or cases being dismissed.
“My prosecutor is going to have discretion in that regard,” Marquez told IVP, “but the goal here is to give them an incentive to succeed in the program.”
“Obviously we’re going to need them assessed to validate because if not we’re going to have people try to con the system,” Marquez said, “but if that is validated and the other criteria are met, then they will be a candidate for the Collaborative Court System.”
“These are people who have historically fallen between the cracks and have not been given the treatment options that they need to succeed,” Marquez said. “My office is tough on crime but we’re also going to be smart on crime and have an open mind toward solving some of the issues related to criminal justice in our communities.”
“This is a process, it’s going to take some time, and we’re not going to see progress within a week,” he said, adding an invitation for local press to check back in about a year for progress.
“When I tell people about it, I’ve gotten overwhelmingly positive comments about it,” Marquez told IVP. “It makes me excited to be part of it,” he said.