Offenders given second chance with Puyallup’s Community Court

Twenty-three-year-old Anthony Johnson walked into a Community Court meeting last month at Puyallup Municipal Court to a message written on a whiteboard.

“Congratulations! Anthony completed treatment!” it said.

Johnson is one of 17 members of Community Court, a program that provides offenders who are facing major life challenges with a second chance.

Those major life challenges could range from homelessness, mental health issues, chemical dependency, lack of family support, lack of education or lack of financial resources. Offenders who are accepted into Community Court enter a plea of guilty and get a two-year deferred sentence. At the end of two years, if they’ve complied with all court orders, the conviction is vacated and the case is dismissed.

“The goal is to take a holistic approach to their case,” Puyallup Judge Andrea Beall said. “So rather than punishment, direct them towards rehabilitation and provide a supportive environment as they go through that process and hopefully get them to a point where they’re stable enough so they can go out and be in the world and not have any other criminal justice involvement.”

Puyallup’s Community Court is still in its early stages, having been started by Beall and Puyallup prosecutor Terra Moulton in 2015, modeling off similar courts in Olympia, Spokane and Everett.

“I started as a prosecutor in Thurston County and they had a mental health court that I was involved in,” Moulton said. “The difference that it made in people’s lives was really spectacular and very different from a traditional, antagonistic court setting, so I was hoping to have something here.”

In Community Court, everyone calls each other by their first names. Even Judge Beall goes by "Judge," Moulton said.

In Puyallup, many are struggling with drug abuse or finding housing.

"Like everywhere, we’re really affected by the opioid epidemic, so I think what we’ve seen with our folks is that chemical dependency is a really substantial problem, housing is a really substantial problem," Moulton said.

Community Court is an attempt to break a cycle of continuing offenders by getting them treatment immediately and having weekly check-ins.

“What we frequently see is someone gets put into jail for a couple of days, maybe they go through detox in jail, and then they’re released and they might wait two weeks for a court date,” Moulton said. “Often times there’s a big gap between the criminal behavior that’s often caused by use, and any sort of resolution.”

Johnson first became involved in Community Court after facing a possession charge in September. His public defender, Will Gunderson, suggested Community Court instead of jail time.

“At first I didn't really want to because they said it was going to be two years,” Johnson said. “Then they talked to me more about it; after two years I would get some of my charges taken off my record. So I told my mom that and my mom basically forced me to take the Community Court program.”

“I told him he had to do it,” added Anthony’s mom, Misty Johnson, who attended his Community Court meeting with him last month.

And they’re both glad he did. As of April, Anthony Johnson completed required treatment.

“He’s an alcoholic,” Misty Johnson said. “So he followed through with his treatment and everything and they’re amazed he’s done it so quickly.”

Now, Anthony Johnson said he wants to work on trains. His mom is contracted to work for Sound Transit.

“Since I’ve started the Community Court program a lot has changed and gotten better for me and my mom and my brother,” Anthony said. “I feel awesome.”

Bryant Porter, another member of Community Court, is glad he joined, but there have been many ups and downs. A former machinist for 22 years, Porter began using drugs and ended up in jail.

“Me being in jail was something new to me and it scared me. So one of the options for me was... Community Court,” said Porter, who’s been a member for more than a year. “It’s been a struggle, up and down. Especially in the first six months. But now — finally — I'm able to get back to where I used to be mentally. They give me structure, and it’s definitely motivating to be on the right path because if I don't have the support it’s hard to get back to working.”

But Porter mentioned an important aspect of Community Court — those who participate have to want to change their lives for the better.

In the past, there have been a couple of participants who were removed from the program for not maintaining law-abiding behavior or sobriety as part of the agreement. But participants are given many chances, Moulton said, and the court understands that sometimes relapses happen.

“What we want to see is that people are holding themselves accountable, are self-reporting and are doing the reflections so it doesn’t happen again,” Moulton said.

So far there has only been one graduate of the two-year program, but two more are expected in September and November.

Now, partnerships with local nonprofits, colleges, housing and transportation services are in the works.

“Anything we can do to get people more direct access to services is going to help,” Moulton said.

This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Offenders given second chance with Puyallup’s Community Court."