Stratton Quoted in Columbus Dispatch Story on Mental Health Courts

Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, of counsel in the Columbus office who prior to joining Vorys served for 16 years as a justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio, was quoted in a Columbus Dispatch story titled “Ohio excels in defusing potential tragedies.”  The story focused on Ohio’s criminal-justice reform efforts aimed at helping judges and law enforcement officials better understand how to deal with offenders struggling with mental illness.

The story states:

“Ohio is also far and away the national leader in establishing specialized courts for offenders struggling with mental illness. Of 144 specialized Ohio courts, 38 are dedicated to that purpose. That is 25 percent of all such courts in the U.S.

For more than a decade, former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton has been the state’s leading crusader for improved treatment of the mentally ill in the criminal-justice system.

‘Mental health is so little understood,’ Stratton said. ‘It’s a difficult issue to deal with and such a hidden thing. There’s not a lot of people that push it. There’s no champion.’”

To read the entire story, visit the Columbus Dispatch website. (Subscription may be required).