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Twenty-One Monroe County Mental Health Court Graduates Honored

Posted on: Monday, 31 October 2005, 21:00 CST

By Dale Hall

Two-and-a-half years after the Monroe County Mental Health Docket opened its doors, there is cause for celebration. Twenty-one former defendants in the specialty court for mentally ill defendants were recently honored during a Silver Ribbon Ceremony at the Hall of Justice. The defendants were cited for their successful completion of the court program, which focuses on treatment for mentally ill defendants as opposed to incarceration.

One Silver Ribbon recipient, Donald Fedrick, told the audience, I am living proof that, if given a chance and the right resources, it can work.

Judge Patricia D. Marks, who presides over the Mental Health Docket, feels pride for those who successfully complete the program.

I think of how these individuals have faced difficult odds and overcome them to lead productive lives and I am amazed and encouraged, noted the judge.

Judge Marks opened the Monroe County Mental Health Docket in January 2003. Since its inception, the court has heard more than 330 cases with more than 4,000 appearances by defendants. Collaborators with the court include the Monroe County District Attorney's Office, the Monroe County Public Defender's Office and the Monroe County Probation Office. Many mental health care providers in the region also work with the court treating defendants and managing cases.

Monroe County District Attorney Mike Green is supportive of the mental health court concept.

Mental Health part can play a vital role in helping the courts and the criminal justice system deal with the challenge of dispensing justice in those cases where individuals with significant mental health issues are accused of committing crimes, Green said. From my perspective, it appears that the criminal justice system, by default, is often called on to deal with individuals with significant mental health issues that have fallen through the cracks in the system. Many times the traditional procedures are not designed to deal with these types of cases or situations. The Mental Health part, in the appropriate cases can help us do justice, addressing the needs of the victim and defendant, reducing recidivism and protecting the community.

Green attended the Silver Ribbon ceremony, along with many other state and local officials, mental health care providers and members of the legal and judicial communities. Silver Ribbon recipients were commended by Judge Thomas M. Van Strydonck, administrative judge for the Seventh Judicial District and Judge Judith H. Kluger, deputy chief administrative judge in the New York State Office of Court Administration.

Kimberly VanCamp, an officer with the Monroe County Probation Office, oversees cases in the Mental Health Docket.

The court encourages communication and collaboration between the professionals within the criminal justice system and the mental health system, resulting in positive outcomes for the defendants that appear before the court, said VanCamp. Mental Health Court involvement has proven to be a valuable tool in the successful supervision of numerous probationers who have a mental illness.

Dr. Robert Weisman, professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said of the Mental Health Court and the judge who presides over it, Judge Marks has demonstrated, through her own effort, a mechanism that prevents unnecessary and expensive incarceration of those individuals with serious mental disorders, while measuring appropriate sentences for criminals when needed. Local funding and support are now paramount in order to sustain this growing and important program.

Judge Marks gives full credit to the agencies and individuals who collaborate with the Mental Health Docket.

The case managers and treatment providers have been full partners in this endeavor and they are the people who help to make it work, Judge Marks noted. I am blessed to know and work with them.

Source: Daily Record (Rochester, NY)

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