A growing number of so-called “designer” courts dealing with certain cases involving limited legal issues such as drugs, mental health problems, domestic violence or DUI are proving their worth in Tennessee with lower rates of recidivism and higher rates of rehabilitation, according to judges.
In the 6th Judicial District (Knox County), a grant-funded drug court is helping minor offenders get their lives back together without doing hard time in jail or prison, said Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner.
“If you ask them how many times they committed a crime before getting into the program, they will respond, ‘daily,’” he said. “Now they’re working, paying taxes and taking care of their kids. But they have to want to be in the program.”
Those who qualify – nonviolent offenders such as forgers, shoplifters, prostitutes and small-time drug dealers referred to the program – must go to treatment three days a week, do three hours of weekly community service work and come to court once a week. And, they have to work. If they get a dirty drug screen, they serve 48 hours. For a second dirty screen, the sentence is a week and the third time, their opportunity to be in the program may be revoked.
Next, Baumgartner said he hopes the district will have a court to deal with offenders who have both substance abuse and mental health problems.
A year-old mental health court in Davidson County, which also has a successful drug court, has received widespread praise and recognition for its rate of success. Just one of five like it in the nation, the court is presided over by General Sessions Judge Mark Fishburn.
The Davidson County drug court offers both inpatient and outpatient treatment for nonviolent felony offenders and has a recidivism rate of less than 15 percent. Criminal Court Judge Seth Norman said it is the only one of 600 drug courts nationwide operating its own residential treatment facility.
Other specialized courts are located in rural as well as urban areas of the state. In the 23rd Judicial District, including Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart counties, Judge Robert Burch said there are drug and DUI courts operating. And, in the 18th Judicial District (Sumner County), Judge Jane Wheatcraft said federal funding was obtained for a drug court to serve as a “two-tier misdemeanor and felony program.”
Domestic violence courts are operating in both the 30th (Shelby County) and 16th (Cannon and Rutherford counties) districts, where there also is a drug court described by Circuit Court Judge Don Ash as “very successful.”
In Blount County, a drug court has been operating at the trial level since 1999 when it was started with a federal grant. Most participants are multi-substance users with a 10-year or longer chemical dependency history, said Circuit Court Judge Kelly Thomas.
Environmental courts fill a niche in several cities, including Nashville, Chattanooga and Memphis, while family, probate and separate juvenile courts also are operating in some areas across the state with even more kinds of specialized courts expected in the future.