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Candidates for Limestone district judge focus on efficiency, mental health

Decatur Daily - 4/29/2022

Apr. 29—The four candidates for Limestone County DistrictJudge Place 2 said that if elected they would work to efficiently manage their docket, and some propose starting a veterans court and mental health court.

Candidates Britley Leonard Brown, Dale Bryant and Jennifer Castro are challenging appointed incumbent David Puckett in the May 24 primary. Puckett was appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey in January when former District Judge Matt Huggins was appointed to fill a vacant Circuit Court seat. There is no announced Democratic challenger in the November general election.

Puckett said his primary goal should be every candidate's primary goal because it is a judge's main function: to handle the cases in front of him "efficiently, expediently and correctly."

Castro said her main goal if elected is to help the younger generation. She said kids can go on a straight and narrow path or veer off on the wrong path. Many juveniles that start out in the criminal justice system end up in the system as adults, Castro said.

"If they do veer off on the side, I want to be able to participate and bring them back on the main road to where they can be productive citizens," Castro said.

Brown said she would focus on running the courtroom effectively and efficiently. She also wants to educate the public on the court system.

"Judges have more power than to just sit behind a bench and hand out rulings. They can affect change in the community, too. I'd really like to see politicians in those kinds of positions really be involved in the community," Brown said.

Bryant said if he were elected his main goal would be to create a veterans court and a mental health court. Some surrounding counties have a veterans court, and Bryant said his would mirror those.

"It is a court where anybody who is a veteran and ends up in the criminal justice system, they have the ability to work their way through having their case dismissed," Bryant said. If they have a mental illness, drug problem or are homeless, there would be specific programs to help, he said.

The mental health court would be similar, Bryant said. The program would take two years to complete and would include inpatient treatment.

Puckett also said mental health is a significant issue among defendants.

"Right now, when we know that there's a person with those (mental health) issues, we make accommodations for that and try to work with that. Since there is no mental health court here, they have to go through the system as it's set up right now," Puckett said.

Brown said there are mental health services in the county that are not being fully utilized, like the Child Advocacy Center.

"In District Court Place 2, right now you handle truancy cases and juvenile delinquency cases. That gives you an opportunity at a young age to really recognize the problem instead of just slapping them on the wrist or putting a Band-Aid on it, but really taking that opportunity to get to the root of the problem and address it then," Brown said.

Castro said there are almost no resources in the county for criminal defendants with mental illness.

"A lot of times there's thefts or assaults that are being committed by people with mental illness who are not even aware that they are doing it because of their lack of mental illness treatment," Castro said.

The county needs more mental health professionals and more resources for the mentally ill, Castro said.

The Place 2 judge also handles child support cases.

Castro said there are too many parents that have the ability to work and participate in their children's lives but will not work or pay child support. "If they can't keep up with their payments then they're going to have to serve their time in jail."

Puckett said the child support docket takes time because he studies each case.

"I believe that supporting your children is not only a legal duty, but a moral obligation and I handle that. It's very important to me," Puckett said.

The court, Puckett said, shows compassion in some situations, but if they are failing to meet their child support obligations, he said he sometimes has to send the person to jail where they can earn money on work release.

Brown said she would handle child support cases on a case-by-case basis. "When you have repeat offenders, you have to be firm, otherwise nothing's ever going to change." Brown said she is not opposed to jail time for those who fail to meet child support obligations.

Bryant said he believes a parent must take responsibility for child support. "I'm going to start putting people in jail for not paying their child support because they can then do work release and pay off their child support."

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.

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