January 2019 Bar Bulletin
By Judge Donna Tucker
It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We see this in the criminal justice system with certain individuals who cycle through the courts repeatedly — you may have prosecuted or defended many of them.
Unlike the person who just made a bad choice and ends up being “scared straight” from their court-assigned punishment, some people have more extensive needs to be addressed. For individuals with challenges such as homelessness, poverty, substance abuse or mental health issues that led them into crime, cycling in and out of court...