Changes are coming to the Berrien County Trial Court in 2018. Two judges have been re-assigned to new duties and another judge has announced his plans to retire in June. In addition, the Trial Court’s “problem solving” programs will be also see some changes.
Berrien County Chief Trial Judge Gary Bruce said last week that Judge Angela Pasula has been re-assigned to the St. Joseph courthouse after spending the last two years presiding over court cases at the south county building in Niles. She will remain part of the court’s criminal division.
Taking Pasula’s place in Niles is Berrien County Trial Judge Charles LaSata, Bruce said. LaSata had headed the trial court’s Drug Court division which is being disbanded as a separate division of the trial court. In addition, there will no longer be a separate docket for the trial court’s misdemeanor domestic violence cases.
Bruce called 2017 a year of healing for the courthouse staff in St. Joseph after the July 2016 courthouse shooting that killed two longtime bailiffs. “There was a lot going on this year with the one year anniversary of the shootings,” he said.
As for the Drug Court change,Bruce noted that drug treatment programs will still be available to defendants convicted of drug crimes or with substance abuse problems, but that changes in state law in recent years has made the Drug Court model obsolete.
He noted that Berrien County was a leader in establishing a separate Drug Court under the direction of Judge Ronald Taylor in 1990. Back then, there were mandatory minimum sentences of one year in prison for drug dealers and the Drug Court got them through the criminal justice system on a “fast track.”
Mandatory minimum sentencing is no longer allowed under state law and drug court cases are now handled at the same speed as other felony cases.
Bruce said the Trial Court’s “problem solving” programs will continue and include services for those needing mental health assistance, sobriety, drug treatment and other services. For example, defendants will still be able to take part in the Swift & Sure probation program.
He reported that 2018 will also see the unveiling of a new “problem solving” program with a new Veterans Court initiative getting started. He said Trial Judge Sterling Schrock will lead the Veterans Court program which he hopes to get underway by the fall.
Another reason for the elimination of the Drug Court division is the need to have five criminal division judges at the St. Joseph courthouse. Bruce said the addition of the county indigent defense office has led to an increase in the number of preliminary hearings and the need for criminal division judges to have more time on their schedule to hear them.
As for the retirement, Berrien County Trial Judge John Donahue announced earlier this fall that he plans to retire at the end of June. He has spent a majority of his tenure on the court in the civil division.
Donahue’s retirement will lead to another change in assignments, Bruce said. Berrien County Trial Judge Donna Howard will be moved from the criminal to the civil division after Donahue’s retirement. The new judge appointed by the governor will then be assigned to the criminal division.
The trial court has three divisions: civil, criminal and family and most of the assignments will stay the same for 2018.
Judges assigned to the civil division continue to be Donahue and Dennis Wiley through the middle of the year. Donahue’s place will be taken by Howard after his retirement.
Judges in the criminal division for the first half of 2018 will be Arthur Cotter, Donna Howard, Angela Pasula, Scott Schofield and Sterling Schrock. A new judge appointed after Donahue’s retirement will be placed in the criminal division after Howard is moved to civil.
Judges assigned to the family division continue to be Brian Berger, Gary Bruce and Mabel Mayfield.
Bruce has again been designated as the Chief Judge for Berrien County for another year with Berger now the Chief Judge Pro-Tem. Schofield had held the Pro-Tem position in 2017.
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