Circuit Court Judge Andrew Freiberg has to deal with all types of criminal offenders, with many who may take part in offenses due to mental health issues.
In many cases, the jails are filled with those who, with some type of help, may not have to be incarcerated. Creation of a Mental Health Court may help not only alleviate the numbers that are seen in jail, but give those in need that special care to help them live productive lives.
The Mental Health Court is being created, per its mission statement, “To recognize the existence of mental illness and provide sentencing alternatives to those individuals in the criminal justice system who may be rehabilitated through appropriate mental health treatment.”
Freiberg, as he was beginning his career in law, saw these types of people while working at a mental health facility for two years while in college.
“My undergraduate degree is in psychology from the University of Wisconsin, and as part of that I worked for two years at a mental health institution and though I was involved in security, I would be out there interacting with the patients,” Freiberg said. “And I guess that I have always had a passion for the recognition of mental health issues in ourselves and our society, and that can’t always be cured through traditional crime and punishment means.”
He said that in many cases, the jail, then, becomes the de facto mental health facility when you do not have appropriate means of helping others.
“In my experience as both a lawyer and as a judge, you will see these same people over and over again, and rather than continue to perpetuate what some social commentators have called ‘assembly line justice,’ maybe we can do something to address the underlying issue, which is that diagnosed mental illness which has manifested itself in criminal conduct,” he said.
That has led to the creation of the Mental Health Court, which serves not only Bradley County, but the entire 10th Judicial District (Polk, McMinn and Monroe counties, in addition to Bradley County).
“This is something that I campaigned on. It is something that I wanted to found and part of the reason is because I saw the success of the Drug Court program,” Freiberg said. “I thought we could do something similar with the Mental Health Court.”
The Drug Court is designed for those convicted of crimes who do not have a violent past to rehabilitate themselves outside the jail. Freiberg, who serves with that program as well, said it has proven to help many who might continue to be involved in drug crimes.
“This is the court and the community bringing its services to bear for intensive treatment,” Freiberg said.
He said there are plans to kick off this court in January 2017, “and I believe we will be the fifth in the state.” It will be on a voluntary basis “for offenders who are mentally ill and have not been successful within the traditional criminal justice system or desire a life of compliance through treatment.”
“It is designed for non-violent offenders,” Freiberg said. “If you have pending violent charges or in the past you have been violent, that is a criteria that would keep you from participation in the Mental Health Court.”
Those who would refer the offenders to the court include the judges, District Attorney and public defender, police officers, court personnel, correctional personnel, probation personnel, mental health personnel and family members. That offender would return to the judges in 30 days for review.
“We hope to tailor a treatment regimen for that individual through counseling, checkups on prescribed medications, and they would be seeing me every other week,” Freiberg said. “They will be on probation and, as I believe that idle hands are the devil’s workshop, they can work or do community service — we want to keep them busy.”
The judge said that “we don’t always have to be hard on crime, but we need to be smart on crime.”
Freiberg said there are plans to have a community forum in the fall to discuss the program. Information on this forum will be announced at a later date.
