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“A revolving door problem has developed in this country. Jails and prisons have become the de facto mental health system of our day. We must reverse this trend.”
- Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Supreme Court of Ohio
As a trial court judge for several years in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton was confronted by the lack of mental health services available to individuals appearing before the court. It was obvious that certain offenders became entangled in the criminal justice system because their illnesses were not being properly addressed in the community.
In 2001, Justice Stratton was motivated by her experience on the bench and by innovative approaches being pioneered by trial judges in Butler and Summit to create a statewide advisory committee to address issues related to the impact of mental illness on Ohio's court system. With guidance from Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, a leading advocate for the creation of drug courts, Justice Stratton organized and has chaired the Supreme Court of Ohio Advisory Committee on Mental Illness and the Courts - ACMIC, a 40 person collaborative taskforce comprised of judges, attorneys, law enforcement members, physicians, mental health advocates, persons with mental illness and representatives from various state agencies including the Ohio Department of Mental Health, the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.
Under her leadership, the Advisory Committee has organized numerous trainings and conferences for judges and their court staffs on issues related to mental illness impacting both adults and juveniles. The Advisory Committee has also supported the local creation of mental health courts and jail diversion programs. And, along with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence, the Advisory Committee has fostered the adoption of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training by police academies, departments and sheriffs offices. Today, Ohio has more courts operating mental health dockets and law enforcement officers trained in crisis intervention than any other state.
Aside from successfully advocating collaboration on a state level, Justice Stratton has advocated on the national level. In 2003, Justice Stratton testified before a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee in support of federal legislation which would support the development of mental health courts and other jail diversion projects aimed at assisting individuals with mental illness. By using her position to foster dialog on these issues, Justice Stratton has been recognized by mental health advocacy groups on both a state and national level. In 2004, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) awarded her their distinguished service award. In that same year, the Council of State Governments (CSG) and the Technical Assistance and Policy Analysis (TAPA) Center for Jail Diversion named Justice Stratton as co-chair of the Judges' Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative (JLI), a caucus of judges helping judges lead collaborative, community-based efforts to improve outcomes for individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system.