A Court of Refuge: Stories from the Bench of America’s First Mental Health Court — A Book Review

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walawlibrary

3 min readDec 29, 2021

“A remarkable one-of-a-kind book: part breezily-written history of the creation and development of the first mental health court; part judicial autobiography by the first judge to preside in such a court; and, above all, a sensitive human-interest portrayal of a number of the fascinating and troubled people served by the court.”— David B. Wexler, professor of law, University of Puerto Rico; Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Arizona; Honorary President, International Society for Therapeutic Jurisprudence

In her book, A Court of Refuge: Stories from the Bench of America’s First Mental Health Court, Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren gives a retrospective overview of the Broward County Mental Health Court, interspersing poignant stories of human frailty with concrete data and problem solving done in the court she has run for more than two decades. Both the data and the stories show the complexity of the problems faced by the mentally ill who become entangled in the legal system. This book also demonstrates the way that the judiciary can respond to help decriminalize mental illness in our society, establishing a workable system to divert defendants into therapeutic care.

Judge Lerner-Wren points out the history of mental health care, noting how the 1963 Community Mental Health Act, which deinstitutionalized mental health patients, was never accompanied by the promised community support systems. Without the community-based care that was supposed to replace the institutions it was inevitable that those with mental health issues would repeatedly run afoul of the law. In 2012, due to budget shortfalls in Florida, it was decided to privatize mental health care. Through individual stories of cases the Judge recalls how all the parties in the court dealt with the ensuing confusion and gaps in care caused by that privatization.

The mental health court that Judge Lerner-Wren presides over is a pioneer in the therapeutic approach to solving legal issues of mentally ill defendants. Despite the amazing successes they have had she has also seen some defendants relapse and return to her court. These instances, though sad, are a reminder of how difficult change can be for these defendants, even with community support and care.

Judge Lerner-Wren’s empathy for the defendants in her court seems quite genuine. She and her staff allow the defendants time to speak and provide full context to their life. They allow these defendants a voice in a circumstance where normally they have none.

The book’s transitions between factual information on the court’s inner workings and the individual case stories can feel awkward at times. But, overall, this is a good overview of a mental health court done right. For information about how to check out this title, please contact us at library.requests@courts.wa.gov or 360–357–2136. (LJ)