Many times, getting to the root of underlying issues, addressing them, and providing consistent and coordinated care helps a person heal and change direction, taking that person out of the criminal justice system. Although a departure from traditional systems of justice, this approach has been proven effective in Phoenix and other jurisdictions, and is employed by the Phoenix Municipal Court's three specialty courts. Success among the three specialty courts translates to a healthier and safer community and reduces the cost and burden to Phoenix.
Specialty Courts
The Phoenix Municipal Court, in partnership with the City of Phoenix Prosecutor's Office and Phoenix's Public Defender's Office, has three specialty problem-solving courts that rely on evidence-based best practices and procedures to provide long-term solutions for offenders. The specialty courts are Community Court, Veterans Court, and Behavioral Health Court.
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Community Court
The Community Court is designed to empower, assist, and provide unsheltered individuals with the tools and resources necessary to establish stable housing, receive services to assist with any addiction issues, connect with mental health professionals, and reduce repetitive criminal behavior. This Court centers around a holistic and compassionate approach to provide long-term solutions that positively impact individuals experiencing homelessness while benefitting the City. The Community Court has the goal of assisting unsheltered persons who have been cited or arrested, and is a collaborative effort between multiple City of Phoenix departments, including the Municipal Court, the Prosecutor's Office, the Public Defender’s Office, and the Office of Homeless Solutions.
Veterans Court
The Veterans Court looks to address the unique needs of defendants who are veterans of the United States military. The goal of Veterans Court is to help restore those veterans in need to return to being successful, contributing members of the community, by ensuring that veterans participating in the court make contact with specific programs that dealing with the root causes of the behavior and conduct, which resulted in the veteran entering the criminal justice system.
Veterans Court was implemented through a partnership between the Municipal Court, Prosecutor's Office, Public Defender's Office, and Phoenix Veterans Administration (VA). The goal of Veterans Court is to restore veterans to being successful, contributing members of the community. The court focuses on ensuring that veterans entering the criminal justice system make contact with specific programs to address the root causes of the behavior that resulted in the veteran becoming a defendant in the criminal justice system.
The target population consists of defendants (veterans) who served in the United States Armed Forces who are experiencing treatable behavioral issues such as post-traumatic stress (PTS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), anger management, domestic violence, or substance and alcohol abuse.
Eligible veterans may participate in Veterans Court by voluntarily opting into the court. Both the defense counsel and prosecutor screen the case and stipulate that the case is appropriate for Veterans Court. Veterans Court meets as a separate court docket. A Veterans Administration representative is present and conducts a VA eligibility assessment.
The prosecutor and veterans with their attorneys gather in Veterans Court along with the VA coordinator; together they explore the various counseling and behavioral programs available to the veteran and determine which is most appropriate for each veteran. When they reach a decision, a treatment plan is incorporated into a plea agreement that becomes the contract for the veteran's responsibility. The court ultimately must review and accept the agreement for the resolution of the case to be completed.
The veteran must be willing to participate fully with the designated program(s). If the veteran chooses not to participate in the agreed upon program(s), the court removes the case from the Veterans Court docket and returns it to the traditional criminal track. As with other cases within Municipal Court, some cases will be eligible for diversion if the veteran completes specified treatment programs. In most cases, the programs will be specifically tailored for the underlying issues of the veteran. For example, domestic violence cases in a traditional track would be sent to standard domestic violence counseling. Veterans Court sends domestic violence offenders to counseling at the VA. If PTS is an underlying issue, then PTS counseling is incorporated into this program.
The VA coordinator and prosecutor regularly review cases to monitor compliance. As part of the therapeutic approach of Veterans Court, frequent sentence review hearings are used to verify the veteran's compliance with the program. This not only establishes accountability for the veteran but also allows the court to recognize the accomplishment of the veteran in taking responsibility for their actions.
Behavioral Health Court
The Behavioral Health Court is a problem-solving alternative court setting for the unique needs of persons with certain mental illnesses. The many goals of this court include: reducing recidivism and incarceration of defendants with mental illness through early intervention, and increasing treatment engagement, collaboration and coordination with mental health, criminal justice, and other community partners.
Many times, getting to the root of underlying issues, addressing them, and providing consistent and coordinated care helps a person heal and change direction, taking that person out of the criminal justice system. Although a departure from traditional systems of justice, this approach has been proven effective in Phoenix and other jurisdictions.
Behavioral Health Court is a collaboration of the Municipal Court, Public Defender's Office, Prosecutor's Office and behavioral health professionals working these specialized cases together with individuals who have been assessed and assigned to BHC.
Success with BHC translates to a healthier and safer community and reduces the cost and burden to Phoenix.
If you have any questions concerning whether a case or an individual is appropriate for Behavioral Health Court, please contact:
Behavioral Health Coordinator
City of Phoenix Public Defender's Office
300 W Washington St, 4th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Phone: (602) 262-1838