Joyce Mills
Ward
Judge
Hamblen County Court of General Sessions (Part I)
Hamblen County Recovery Court
Hamblen County, Tennessee
March 2006
________________________________________________________________________
Personal:
Ø
Born:
February 2, 1943, in East Tennessee;
daughter of P. G. Mills and Bertha Mills.
Ø
Married: Thomas Richard Spradlin
(attorney at law).
Ø
Immediate Family: Two daughters (Mickey Ward Trent and Kellie
Ward Smyth); three grandsons (Griffin Trent, Gavin Trent, and Alex Michael).
Education:
Ø
Doctor of Jurisprudence, University of Tennessee Law School.
Ø
Bachelor of Arts (With Honors), University
of Tennessee.
Ø
Associate of Arts (Magna Cum Laude), Walters
State Community
College.
Admitted to the Practice of Law:
Ø
State of Tennessee, 1977.
Professional Experience:
Ø
Practicing attorney since 1977.
Ø
1978-1981: Judge, Hamblen County
Court of General Sessions.
Ø
1981-1992: Private practice of law.
Ø
1992-1996: Assistant Public Defender, 3rd
Judicial District of Tennessee.
Ø
1996 - Present: Judge, Hamblen County
Court of General Sessions.
Accomplishments:
Ø
Became the first woman to hold the
General Sessions judgeship in Hamblen County and the third such in Tennessee.
Ø
Established the Hamblen County
Community Work Program.
Ø
Appointed by the Hamblen County
Commission in March 1996 to fill a vacancy on the bench.
Ø
As the Republican nominee, won a
contested election in August 1996 to fill the unexpired two years of the
predecessor’s term.
Ø
Was unapposed in August 1998 for
re-election to a full eight-year term.
Ø
Organized the Hamblen County Recovery Court in 2004
pursuant to a Federal grant exceeding three hundred thousand Dollars ($300,000)
from the National Drug Court Institute, Office of National Drug Control Policy,
Executive Office of the President.
(There are now more than 1,200 such courts operating throughout the United States.)
Ø
Former Vice President, Tennessee
Conference of General Sessions Judges (two terms: 1980-81 & 1996-97).
Ø
Former President, Hamblen County Bar
Association (being the first woman to hold that office).
Ø
Former Special Justice, Supreme Court of
Tennessee (appointed by then-Governor Lamar Alexander).
Ø
Former member of Advisory Board and
Adjunct Faculty, Walters
State Community
College.
Ø
Recipient in the year 2000 of the Walters
State Community College Meritorious Achievement Award.
Jurisdiction and Duties as Judge of the Hamblen County
Court of General Sessions:
Ø
Arraignments. Preside over
arraignments in most criminal cases brought in Hamblen County.
Ø
Preliminary
Hearings. Preside
over preliminary hearings in felony cases and is required to make initial
rulings on the admissibility of evidence, to rule on all objections, and to
determine whether the State has presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate
that "probable cause" exists to prove each element of the alleged
offense(s). If "probable
cause" is found to exist, the judge must bind the case over for
consideration by a grand jury.
Ø
Misdemeanor
Cases. Preside
over most misdemeanor cases when defendants waive their right to a jury
trial. It is the duty of the judge in
each such case to verify and document the defendant's waiver of the right to a
jury trial, to listen to all of the evidence, to rule on all evidentiary questions,
and to determine whether the State has proven "beyond a reasonable
doubt" that the alleged crime was committed by the defendant. If the defendant is found guilty, the judge
must impose punishment in accordance with applicable law.
Mission and Program of the Hamblen County Recovery Court:
Ø
Mission. The
mission of the Hamblen County
Recovery Court (and the mission of all such “drug
courts,” as they are sometimes called), is to stop the abuse of alcohol and
other drugs and related criminal activity by offenders. Recovery courts are operated under a highly
specialized team process which functions within the existing court structure to
address cases involving certain eligible, nonviolent, drug and alcohol
offenders. Such courts are unique in the
criminal justice environment because they build a close collaborative
relationship between criminal justice and drug treatment professionals. Within a cooperative courtroom atmosphere,
the judge heads a team of court staff, attorneys, probation officers, substance-abuse
evaluators, and treatment professionals all working in concert to support and
monitor a participant's recovery.
Together, they maintain a critical balance of authority, supervision,
support, and encouragement. Recovery
court programs are rigorous, requiring intensive supervision based on frequent
drug testing and court appearances, along with tightly structured regimens of
treatment and recovery services. This
level of supervision enables the court to support the recovery process and
react swiftly to impose appropriate therapeutic and/or disciplinary sanctions,
or to reinstate criminal proceedings when participants do not comply with the
program’s rules.
Ø
Program.
The program of the Hamblen County Recovery Court is
characterized by:
¨
Collaborative links between the court,
prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement personnel, treatment providers,
social service agencies, and community-based non-profit organizations.
¨
A standardized assessment process for identifying
suitable and eligible non-violent drug/alcohol offenders for enrollment in the
program.
¨
Team members trained in substance abuse
and recovery issues and operating in a non-adversarial atmosphere.
¨
A system of graduated sanctions and
incentives to encourage recovery goals and hold offenders accountable for
non-compliant behaviors.
¨
On-going training of team personnel at
state and national levels to maintain proficiency in the field of drug and
alcohol recovery.
¨
Continued program evaluation efforts to
assess the effectiveness of intervention techniques and to update and improve
program design when warranted.
Civic Activities:
Ø
Past service on the boards of directors
of MATS, CEASE, HAWK, Girls Inc., TLAW, Senior Citizens Home Assistance, and
Child and Family Services.
Personal Statement:
The
General Sessions Courts have been described as “the courts of the people.” In recent years, the Hamblen County Sessions Court’s various
dockets have involved more than 8,000 individual cases per year. When one considers that each case inevitably
affects the lives of at least two people in the community, is seen that no
fewer than 16,000 Hamblen
County citizens are
directly involved in the Court’s business each year.
During
the past year, cases in the Hamblen County General Sessions Court resulted in
the collection of approximately one million three hundred thousand Dollars
($1,300,000) in fines, court costs, and fees from misdemeanor offenders in
Hamblen County. In addition to actual
funds collected, Hamblen
County has received over
40,000 hours of community work service from misdemeanor offenders each year --
a value of more than two hundred thousand Dollars ($200,000) annually at the
current minimum wage. The foregoing
totals do not reflect the significant amount of restitution funds which the
Court, working in conjunction with the East Tennessee Human Resources Agency
(ETHRA) and the Circuit and Sessions Court Clerks, has obtained each year for
victims of misdemeanor crimes in Hamblen
County. These figures reflect an increasing number of
defendants who are accepting responsibility for their conduct.
JOYCE MILLS WARD
