Isabella County Trial Judge Sarah Spencer-Nogle.
Long before she was appointed to the bench in 2019, Judge Sarah Spencer Nogle was an advocate for reforming Michigan’s criminal justice system to find alternatives for mentally ill offenders.
Spencer-Nogle was selected by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as Isabella County’s first public defender to fill the judicial vacancy left by Paul Chamberlain’s retirement. During his time as a public defender, he is credited with helping the county advance the defense of indigent criminals. lawyer.
As both a defense attorney and a judge, Spencer-Nogle has worked to change the way states treat mentally ill people in the criminal justice system. A few months into her term as a judge, Whitmer appointed her to represent her on the statewide mental health board. Justice authorities will help implement new programs designed to help people with severe mental illnesses receive treatment rather than languish in prison.
Spencer Nogle’s term on the Mental Health Transition Council expires this year, and Whitmer reappointed him to serve on the board for an additional four years.
“I am deeply honored that Governor Whitmer has reappointed me to serve on the Mental Health Transformation Council,” Spencer-Nogle said Wednesday after Governor Whitmer announced several appointments to state boards and commissions. , said: “The Council will provide policy and legislative recommendations to the Governor and implement new and innovative initiatives aimed at diverting people with serious mental health issues from prisons and jails.”
Isabella County Recovery Court Director Spencer Nogle held a celebration last fall with 70 people who successfully completed an intensive, highly supervised program across four levels of drug, alcohol and rehabilitation services.
For participants who often have barriers to sobriety, such as housing or financial instability, the program responds to an urgent and immediate need, and is Spencer Nogle’s pet project and past experience. I intend to continue my fight for justice for mentally ill criminals who have fallen from grace. Through the cracks.
“The council is involved in many, if not most, prison diversion programs across the state,” Spencer Nogle said. “Among the many programs MHDC conducts is the highly popular Law Enforcement Training in Crisis Intervention in partnership with the (Michigan Law Enforcement Standards Commission).”
Another focus of MHDC is the creation of intervention services.
“City Council is also working to implement diversion centers and mobile crisis intervention services across the state,” she said. “I am very proud of the council’s work to keep people with mental health problems out of prisons and prisons and into the services they need in their own homes.
“This will enhance public safety, save taxpayers money, and improve the quality of life for thousands of people each year.”
Spencer Nogle, a Mount Pleasant resident, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Central Michigan University and his Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University School of Law.
Whitmer reappointed her as the region’s head of inmate or prison reentry programs for a term starting Tuesday and ending Jan. 30, 2028.
