Offenders are held accountable for their crimes, but also rehabilitated and treated for their struggles, whether they are drug abuse or mental health challenges.
The Family Dependency Treatment Court, the Drug Court and the Mental Health Court of Montgomery County Juvenile Court have been officially certified.
With this certification, the Ohio Supreme Court has acknowledged the courts are following the state’s standardized practices. The certification process for special docket courts was instituted in 2014. It ensured there is a uniform practice for docket courts statewide.
It’s a long process. The Court had to fill out a certification request and submit all of its documentation to the Supreme Court.
Then the Supreme Court observes for a day.
Anthony Capizzi is the administrative judge with the Juvenile Court. He said on the day of the sit-in, everyone was anxious.
“We’re the best. I know it. I’ve seen it all over the country, I know we do the best job. We’re the best trained. And so the anxiety is let’s not screw up,” Capizzi said. “And nobody did.”
Capizzi said he told his employees to just do what they always do, as their work is already exemplary. Before the Supreme Court visited, they hosted a mock trial to practice together.
On the day of, Capizzi and his staff made sure they were dotting every 'I' and crossing every 'T,' giving it their all. Their hard work paid off.
“We do great work. The staff I have is amazing, they’re so well trained and we just maintain quality,” Capizzi said.
With this certification, Capizzi said nothing much will change. It’s business as usual – working hard and helping those in need.
“There’s no change, except we’ll keep getting better,” he said.
