Officially, the new docket in Administrative Judge Brendan Sheehan鈥檚 Cuyahoga County courtroom is called the violence intervention program. Unofficially, it鈥檚 the gun docket.
Sheehan got into the details of their lives with several of the program鈥檚 participants during recent hearings, asking each: Where are they working? Are they getting their high school diploma? Have they pursued trauma counseling with MetroHealth System?
鈥淟isten, 90% of success in life is showing up,鈥� Sheehan said to one participant. 鈥淛ust keep showing up and following through with everything they鈥檙e telling you to do, all right? And how is Ohio Means Jobs treating you?鈥�
The Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas has the first specialized docket in Ohio for gun possession charges.
It started small in 2019, accepting a handful of people arrested for illegal gun possession charges. Now it鈥檚 expanding, thanks to a $750,000, three-year federal grant.
The issue being tackled is a massive one in Cleveland. So far this year, shootings are up 43% compared to 2020, homicides with a gun are up 38% and almost 1,600 guns have been seized by Cleveland police.
Gun court works like other , with participants going through an intensive probation and monitoring period instead of prison time. If they鈥檙e successful in the program, the charge is removed from their record.
But unlike drug courts鈥� focus on seeking an end to drug use, gun court isn鈥檛 necessarily trying to get participants to stop carrying a gun.
鈥淚 got tired,鈥� Sheehan said during an interview. 鈥淚 got tired every day, coming into court, seeing a young man, young woman, with a gun.鈥�
Sheehan said he heard the same story about why they needed to carry one over and over again.
鈥溾�業 needed it for protection. I needed a gun because I got shot at. My mother was murdered with a gun. I needed a gun. People are after me,鈥欌�� Sheehan said. 鈥淚 mean, you hear these stories day in and day out. A lot of these folks plead to crimes that they had to go to prison for.鈥�
According to Sheehan, the program鈥檚 goal is to keep people who feel the need to be armed from turning to violence.
Levi King is one of those people. He鈥檚 23 now; two years ago he was caught carrying a gun without a concealed carry permit.
So King entered the program, first by pleading guilty to the gun charge. He figured going through the violence intervention program would be the only way to keep it off his record 鈥� and be able to legally carry a gun afterward.
鈥淓verybody got a gun,鈥� Kind said, describing his neighborhood. 鈥淣owadays, if you ain鈥檛 got a gun, you stand out. They not going to take you serious.鈥�
According to King, violence in his Cleveland neighborhood has gotten so bad, there鈥檚 a feeling the next threat could be coming from anywhere.
鈥淧ull up, walk up, crawl up, pop up from under the porch,鈥� King said. 鈥淵ou never know. When you got a gun it makes you feel more protected, you know, like you can handle yourself for real, for real.鈥�
But those concerns don鈥檛 hold much water for a criminal justice system that expected him to stay away from guns while he had an open case and during probation.
King tried early on to explain to court officials that he needed to carry a gun for protection.
鈥淭hey just looked at me as any normal Black guy in the 鈥榟ood. They used to that,鈥� he said. 鈥淏asically, you have to move, if I feel uncomfortable like that. But it鈥檚 not like I鈥檓 financially stable to do all that, up and move.鈥�
The violence intervention program approaches King鈥檚 dilemma a bit differently from traditional probation proceedings. He was assigned a mentor from the anti-violence group Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance. Together, they focused on the other decisions King was making, like who he associated with and how much time he spent in the streets. His mentor helped him get a job as a roofer.
King completed the program in two years. He has no criminal record. He鈥檚 since gotten a concealed carry permit, something he never would have been eligible for with that felony on his record.
King said he deserves the second chance.
鈥淓verything ain鈥檛 what it seem like, you know? I got it just in case,鈥� King said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like seeing somebody with a pocket knife on his hip, thinking, 鈥極h, he鈥檚 gonna poke somebody up.鈥� You don鈥檛 know what he鈥檚 got it for. He might use it as a utility knife.鈥�
The Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance follows a in its work with gun court participants. Executive Director Myesha Crowe appreciates working with the gun court because it puts a system of support around young people caught with guns so they have a chance to learn the lessons King did.
There are two issues at the root of so much gun violence, Crowe said: it鈥檚 too easy to get a gun in Cleveland and too often young people are getting one for status.
鈥淎nd I think that the issue is, there鈥檚 no education about what a firearm is for, that it鈥檚 not for status, that it鈥檚 not for pictures, that it鈥檚 not to show your friends,鈥� Crowe said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 to protect yourself.鈥�
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