dayton municipal court

In 2003, Judge John S. Pickrel convened the first Dayton Municipal Mental Health Docket and reviewed two candidates for potential entry into the Access II Program.

Access II is designed to meet the needs of person with mental health problems charged with misdemeanors in the City of Dayton. These individuals must be coherent or stable enough to understand and comply with the program requirements. Access II candidates are referred by Dayton Police officers trained in Crisis Intervention training in addition to referrals from the City of Dayton Prosecutor’s Office, the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office, Crisis Care specialists at the Montgomery County Jail and a licensed social worker from Day-Mont Behavioral Healthcare and Eastway Behavioral Healthcare agencies.

The Mental Health Court Docket team consists of representatives from the Dayton Municipal Court Probation Department, Prosecutor’s Office, Public Defender’s office, Good Samaritan Behavioral Healthcare, Crisis Care, DayMont and Eastway Behavioral Centers.

This group meets weekly at what is termed the roundtable. The meetings are scheduled one week prior to the candidate’s court date. The probation officer is responsible for compiling comprehensive information packets, including criminal histories, for review. Day-Mont and Eastway provide a mental health assessment which includes criminal histories, to determine eligibility criteria. Subsequently, the roundtable makes a recommendation to the judge for acceptance into the program. The ultimate decision for acceptance into the program rests with the Mental Health Docket Judge.

Should the candidate be accepted into the program, he/she is immediately connected to services with Day-Mont or Eastway and placed on intensive probation. The participants are involved in treatment and on probation in the Access II Program, for a period not to exceed 24 months. As needed status court hearings are set for Access II participants to ensure program compliance. Individuals graduate from the program after successfully completing the treatment plan and having no new criminal charges during the 24 month period. Upon successful completion of the program, the prosecutor files a motion to vacate the guilty plea and dismiss the charge.

During 2008, Dayton Municipal Court along with Montgomery County and the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services Board (ADAMHS) of Montgomery County gained approval from the Ohio Supreme Court granting county-wide jurisdiction for the implementation of the Dayton Municipal/Montgomery County Municipal Mental Health Court. This partnership has proven to be very successful with a needed tool now being offered to the surrounding jurisdictions. This expansion led to the hiring of a second probation officer to handle the increase of cases.

A review of the Access II Program indicates three hundred ninety (390) defendants have been referred to the Access II program since Mental Health Court began in 2003.

• Three hundred thirty-three accepted into Access II.
• Fifty-seven (57) participants graduated from the program to date.
• Of the defendants accepted, forty (40) have re-offended.

A significant reduction in jail time is realized by those who are accepted into the program. Jail bed usage is tracked for one year before and one year after acceptance inte Access II. A reduction of jail bed usage of approximately 60% has been realized.

The Dayton Municipal Court Housing Docket was implemented in 1999. Violators of Dayton housing and property code ordinances are prosecuted on this docket by an assigned prosecutor and assigned housing department inspectors who represent the prosecutional team in court.

The docket has provided the city with a uniform and focused response to problem properties and owners. Repeat offenders, by facing the same judge, prosecutor, housing inspector, imposed fines and other sanctions, are strongly encouraged to improve compliance with the housing and property code ordinances.

Since the implementation of the docket nine years ago: 19,748 cases have been filed; 13,276 cases have been disposed by payment at the clerk’s office or by plea of guilty to the charge; 4,650 have been found guilty, including 3,774 individuals who have paid fines and costs and 876 individuals who have been sentenced to probation or jail; and $816,230 fines and costs have been collected.

The Recovery Now! Docket, implemented in 2005, is presided over by Judge Daniel G. Gehres. The program is a partnership with the Center for Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (CADAS) along with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board and the Dayton Municipal Court to provide inpatient substance abuse treatment for females convicted of prostitution or solicitation offenses.

While the offender is in jail or out of jail, a pre-sentence investigation and a substance abuse evaluation is completed. If the defendant is assessed to be in need of inpatient/aftercare treatment, she is eligible for the Recovery Now! Program. If deemed appropriate, the defendant is placed on supervised probation for a period up to eighteen months and transported to the 28-day inpatient residential facility of CADAS. While in the program, the probation officer meets with the offender and her CADAS Counselor to encourage completion of the program and make preparation for the second six month phase: aftercare treatment at CADAS or NOVA House outpatient facility. Additionally, the offender is in need of more intense inpatient treatment, the offender will be required to enter NOVA House halfway facility before beginning outpatient care.

While in treatment, inpatient or outpatient, the offender returns to the Recovery Now! Special Docket Judge for status hearings on progress and to receive admonishment or encouragement. Furthermore, the status hearing keeps the offender current of expectations regarding behavior and conditions of probation.
Recovery Now! continued to provide structured treatment for female offenders during the year 2007. A total of eight females entered the inpatient treatment facility at CADAS and four successfully completed the program. A total of three of the eight who participated in the program have re-offended with Soliciting/Loitering offenses.