Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan has seen it all. At 73, the former public defender has worked both sides of the bench. Now he directs Los Angeles County’s problem solving courts that deal with issues which can lead people into criminal behavior, such as substance abuse, mental health problems, and poverty.
Men vastly outnumber women in the criminal justice system, and females commit, for the most part, non-violent crimes. With this in mind, Judge Tynan thinks up novel sentencing solutions for women. His sentences can be anything from writing an essay, to a sentence of a small amount of jail time, depending on what their criminal report states and how the woman who was arrested presents her case, and herself.
Believing in second chances, Judge Tynan sends many women who commit drug offenses to a substance abuse program in Pomona, rather than to prison. The program, called Prototypes, offers women treatment for their addictions, classes in life and job skills, and the opportunity to keep their families intact through counseling and parenting classes. The time that the women live at Prototypes (rather than vegetate in prison) ranges from six months to however long it takes for the woman to obtain the help that she needs. Many of the women who enter the program are homeless, physically or sexually abused, addicted to drugs, mentally unstable or otherwise fractured in mind and soul. After completion of the “sentence” handed down by Judge Tynan, the women leave Prototypes and return to his court where he offers praise and encouragement.
For those women who commit a non-violent crime, Judge Tynan’s Women’s Reentry Court can be a life-altering experience. Having a judge that actively looks for a solution that will benefit, not break a woman, is a novel concept that has kept women united with their children, on the path to sobriety and out into the job market with new skills and attitudes.
Source: Los Angeles Times 10/19/10
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