UNDERSTANDING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM A Guide for Adults with Mental Illness, Advocates & Families Understanding the Criminal Justice System Introduction & Acknowledgements AND UNDERSTANDING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: A Guide for Adults with Mental Illness, Advocates & Families Connecticut Appleseed NAMI – CT Phone: 203-210-5356 Phone: 860-882-0236 Email:
[email protected] Email:
[email protected] Web: www.ctappleseed.org Web: www.namict.org Acknowledgements This guide would not have been possible without the consultation of: Cheri Bragg, Coordinator, CT Keep the Promise Coalition Brian Coco, Chief Probation Officer II, Judicial Branch, Court Support Services Division Betsy Graziano, L.C.S.W., Manager, Community Forensic Services, CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Kate Mattias, Executive Director, NAMI-CT Louise Pyers, M.S., Criminal Justice Project Director, NAMI-CT Shalom Stephens, Attorney Attorney Monte Radler, Chief of Psychiatric Defense Services, CT Office of the Public Defender Table of Contents Introduction and Acknowledgements 1 Forward 2 Crisis Prevention and Planning 3 Entering the Criminal Justice System 7 Getting Legal Representation 10 Going to Court 13 Legal Stages in the Criminal Justice System 15 Locating your Loved one within the Criminal Justice System 19 Coming Home 21 Glossary of Terms and Phrases 23 Resources 29 Crisis Team Contacts by Town 29 Adult Probation Offices 47 Parole Offices in Connecticut 48 General Resources 49 Introduction and Acknowledgements This guide is intended to help parents know what to expect and how to navigate Connecticut’s criminal justice system as it relates to adults (ages 18 and up) with a mental illness. Families and advocates for adults aged 18 and over who are affected by some form of mental illness need to know at the outset that there is such a system, as well as to understand how it works, in order to work to best advantage with an attorney.