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Sunday, May 13, 2007

Ind. Courts - Monroe County looking at "problem-solving courts"

A story today by Becky Robbins of the Bloomington Herald-Tribune ($$$) reports:

Increased caseloads and crowded jails are causing trial courts across the country to examine how criminal justice can be administered better using alternative court forms, particularly where repeat offenders are involved.

A popular trend is the creation of “problem-solving courts,” which attempt to address recidivism using both accountability and collaboration in targeted areas of criminal behavior.

The Monroe County Board of Judges already has experimented with problem-solving courts. Monroe County Drug Court, whose administration has been transferred from Judge Kenneth Todd to Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff, is one example. * * *

Todd is presiding judge of the Monroe County unified court system, made up of eight circuit courts in the Justice Building. Five are civil courts, and three are criminal courts. The Indiana General Assembly has approved the addition of a ninth court beginning in January 2008.

Since the local judges will be deciding in the upcoming months what sort of cases will be allocated to the new court, discussions about adding one or more problem-solving courts are timely.

The story discusses the possible creation of a domestic violence court, a family court, a truancy court, a mental health court, and a re-entry court.

This June 18, 2006 ILB entry quoted from a story in the Lafayette C & J about the various "problem solving alternative courts" underway in Tippecanoe County.

And this April 27, 2006 ILB entry quoted from a NY Times article headlined "In Problem-Solving Court, Judges Turn Therapist."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 13, 2007 10:03 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts