‘Wellness Court’ to Try Defendants with Mental Illnesses | Local&State

“It’s a type of white cheddar cheese,” Sutton said.

“That’s quite a good thing,” Cromwell replied.

All joking aside, Cromwell asked Sutton, who has been diagnosed with bipolar I disorder, how life was going, to which Sutton replied that her birthday celebration “went well.”

“What do you mean, ‘guess’? What have you done?” Cromwell asked him.

Sutton said he had arranged to meet two friends for dinner but that they ended up “breaking their engagement and getting drunk on champagne”.

“Oh, that’s a bit of a shame,” Cromwell said.

But Sutton was able to celebrate with another friend over dinner.

“Oh, thank goodness!” said Cromwell.

The exchange took place at Wellness Court, a program for defendants with certain mental illnesses that was created in 2015 and has a cap of 20 defendants, though recent enrollments have been slightly higher than that number.

“There’s so much negativity in criminal court, so to actually be able to go in and see people get better is rewarding, even for our own mental health,” Cromwell said in an interview.

It could take a minimum of a year for the defendant to graduate from wellness court, the judge said.

The program culminates with a variety of “community impact projects,” ranging from wrapping sandwiches for people who live along the Bear Creek Greenway to designing brochures for nonprofit organizations.

“The idea is that, essentially, they can give back to the community what they’ve benefited from,” Cromwell says. “It’s a way to instill in them a sense of pride not only in knowing they’ve done something for someone, but in knowing they’re doing things in the right direction.”

The program is aimed at defendants aged 18 or older who suffer from a “serious and persistent mental illness,” including schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder.

Eligible defendants must be accused of committing a crime due to a mental illness, and they must also have a basic understanding of wellness courts and their expectations.

“They’re not necessarily intentionally (committing a crime), but there has to be a connection between their mental health issues and the criminal behaviour,” Cromwell said.

They must also receive a recommendation from the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office, which can object to anyone being in the program if they believe they pose a threat to public safety.

Wade Hilscher, an assistant district attorney who supports the wellness court, said it can be difficult to decide which defendants to offer to participate in the trial.

“We have to think about public safety not just now, but four years from now,” he said.

Randy Burnham, 57, of White City, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar I disorder before entering Wellness Court, said he might have been a completely different person without treatment.

Burnham thought she was “over it” after stealing a friend’s truck from a ranch in July 2021, but she learned about the program from attorney Alyssa Bartholomew. Burnham’s father, a former litigation lawyer, helped her secure representation.

“Thank goodness,” Burnham said, “(Bartholomew) was very thoughtful and took that information and referred me to Wellness Court, and it all started from there.”

Sutton didn’t want to discuss how he ended up in court, but said wellness court appealed to him because it would potentially give him one year of probation instead of two.

Although he was hesitant at first, he came to believe the program was a great alternative to traditional procedures.

“It’s not a very strict system,” Sutton said, “it’s a very compassionate, lovely, laid back, seemingly casual type of court.”

He believes that creating tougher courts will not help people with mental illness recover.

“They’re going to be stressed and scared,” Sutton said. Wellness courts are “there to comfort you and guide you, and that’s very beneficial for mental health issues,” he said.

During last Tuesday’s hearing, Sutton said addiction treatment provider Ontrack Rogue Valley is helping him get a new phone.

“They let me start on it, but I still have paperwork to fill out and I’ve been putting it off,” Sutton told Cromwell.

Cromwell then said if Sutton continues to meet his obligations to the Wellness Court, he could move onto the final stage of the program by early July.

“We’ll be there soon,” Cromwell said.

Sutton was delighted. “Amazing!”

He emerged from court last Tuesday holding a gift card given to him by Cromwell.

Wellness courts differ from traditional courts in several ways, Cromwell said: Participants face the option of pleading guilty and avoiding prison if they successfully complete the program.

“Rather than giving defendants prison time up front, we defer the sentence and have them tried in our courts,” Cromwell said.

She noted that Wellness Court participants often don’t come to the program motivated to recover.

“So you give them an external motivator, like prison,” Cromwell said, “and then while they’re in court, attending recovery meetings, and going to therapy, you start to work on their internal motivation.”

Defendants in Wellness Court do not receive a dedicated public defender while they are in the program.

Southern Oregon Public Defender attorney Andrew Jordan, who supports the wellness court, said it serves as a resource for defendants.

“To be honest, I don’t get much legal advice from Wellness Court,” he said. “I get positive words of encouragement every week.”

Wellness Court’s foundational value is accountability.

“People are going to be struggling, and we need to hold them accountable,” Hirscher said. “Holding people accountable also means showing them a little bit of empathy, because we know their struggles are hard.”

Cromwell sometimes has to remove defendants from the program if they violate the terms of the program — the most common reason, she said, is committing a new crime.

Judge Cromwell did not dismiss anyone during Tuesday’s hearing but reminded the woman of the seriousness of the charges when the judge learned the defendant had tested positive for drugs in a urine test.

“Little things are getting in the way of her graduating,” Cromwell said, noting the woman had been on Wellness Court for two years.

“I can’t say we haven’t had a great deal of patience with you. We have,” Cromwell told her.

The judge added that she “must stay true to the show” and “there must be some standards” or “the public will not accept this.”

Burnham said she violated Wellness Court rules by taking prescription drugs that did not belong to her, something she initially denied in court because she was embarrassed.

“That was more humiliating than telling the truth about what happened,” Burnham said.

The confession delayed Burnham’s graduation from Wellness Court for 60 days because Cromwell wanted to ensure Burnham’s innocence, and Burnham said he learned from the experience.

Burnham will graduate from Wellness Court on Aug. 8, 2023, and the felony charges he pleaded guilty to were reduced to misdemeanors.

Now working as a ranch hand at Heart Haven Ranch, 11100 Meadows Road in White City, and using horses as part of her mental health recovery, Burnham said she looks back on Wellness Court and isn’t sure how to give back to the people who were involved.

“I’m so grateful because right now I could be sitting in jail wearing an orange suit,” Burnham said.