NEWS

Chief Justice requests funding to pilot state's mental health court

Mark Walker
mwalker@argusleader.com

PIERRE – South Dakota's Chief Justice has requested funding to pilot the state’s first specialized court aimed at treating and stabilizing defendants with mental illnesses.

Chief Justice David Gilbertson’s bid comes as the task force he created to find ways to find solution to growing interaction between the state’s mental health crisis and criminal justice system winds down. Funding for the specialized court will be added into next year's Unified Judicial System.

“They have been used in many states in the country with success,” Gilbertson said. “We would hope if it does succeed in Pennington to also look at Minnehaha County.”

The task force was created following an Argus Leader Media investigation into the delays in court-ordered mental competency screenings. An analysis of the case load revealed an uptick in cases – primarily in Pennington and Minnehaha counties – that state officials couldn’t explain.

Gilbertson said he’s reached out to judges in other circuits, but they told him they didn’t think they had the caseload to support a mental health court.

Task force talks solutions to mental health crisis

South Dakota has about a dozen specialty courts for drug and drunken driver offenders, as well as veterans. The state’s Unified Judicial System oversees the courts.

In a mental health court, a prosecutors could contact a defendant’s attorney offering to move their case into the specialized court. A mental health screen would occur; followed the court mandated treatment program. Successfully completing the program could result in a defendants charged being dismissed.

Before the Chief Justice’s proposal, second judicial circuit judge Doug Hoffman was researching what it would take to bring a mental health court to South Dakota.

Hoffman said when people have serious mental illnesses causing them to act irrationally, having them go to jail or prison – and in some cases probation – doesn’t help.

“It’s better for the individual and their family, it’s better for the justice system, and for the community to match people up with the services they need,” Hoffman said.

The executive director of a nonprofit that advocates for better treatment and services for those with mental illnesses sees the pilot program being a success. Phyllis Arends, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said having the court in place will force community stakeholders to work together.

“I think there is a lot of interest in helping people stay in the community rather than throwing them behind bars,” Arends said.

Pennington County Sheriff and task force member Kevin Thom said he’s supportive of the pitch for the pilot program being done in Rapid City. Thom said Minnehaha and Pennington Counties have the best shot at making it work pending legislative approval.

“We have the volume to sustain the numbers to potentially support a mental health court and, speaking specifically of Pennington County, we have a very strong collaboration between the public defender’s office, state’s attorneys, law enforcement, and local nonprofits,” Thom said.

State Representative Steve Haugaard, who serves on the legislative health and human services committee, said he could see legislators getting behind the pilot program.

“The chief justice always has it pretty easy go at getting things through,” Haugaard said. “Because he always has data to back it.”