Judge: courts seek ways to streamline system

PALMER -- Courts in Alaska and other states are relying more and more on alternative types of sentencing as the number of criminal cases continues to increase, Palmer District Court Judge Greg Heath said last week.

Youth Court and faith-based programs are among the options that help relieve clogged court schedules, he said.

Heath was appointed to the Third District bench in January after spending 10 years with the public defender's office in Palmer. He spoke Feb. 18 to the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce.

Heath estimated that Palmer's District Court judges see three times the number of cases as any other district court judges in the state. Sixty to 90 cases are set for trial each week in Palmer, he said.

"We can do about one. So you do a lot of plea bargaining."

That may involve knocking a felony charge down to a misdemeanor, the judge said. Or the deal might be a sentencing bargain in which the defendant and prosecutor agree on the amount of time that will be served under the original charge.

Not many cases are actually dismissed, Heath added.

But as caseloads grow, other avenues to justice also are being taken. Heath said a movement toward "restorative justice" is gaining favor nationwide.

"You try to make individuals whole," Heath said. "It's more of a healing process."

He likened the practice to the elders' "circle sentencing" in some Native villages. The practice is less costly than traditional court, particularly in the Bush where it eliminates travel to a regional court.

Another option is Youth Court, in which teens get legal training and then handle sentencing for misdemeanor cases involving other youths. The program operates in the Mat-Su, with new court members set to begin their training March 6.

"It's kind of a deferral program through a court of their peers," Heath said. "Nationwide these programs are very effective. They open up the eyes of youths."

Faith-based programs, in which counseling is provided through churches, also is gaining momentum. Heath said the only such program in the Valley is Teen Challenge, an alcohol rehabilitation program for young women which serves as an alternative to jailing offenders. The process is used more heavily in Anchorage, he said.

Heath said it's clear that community resources are being sapped by low-level crimes stemming from dysfunctional homes.

"We're not resolving the problems," he said. "The system is just perpetuating them. My hope is we can expand the opportunities for faith-based counseling.

"That way, you're allowing the community to step in and provide some of these services."

Contact Steve Kadel at steve.kadel@frontiersman.com.