By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Lancaster Town Justice Mark Montour was named Jurist of the Year by the Judges & Police Conference of Erie County.

In addition to his work as a town justice, Montour serves as an acting Buffalo City Court judge and was recognized for his work in creating and managing Lancaster's Problem Solving Court.

Similar to drug, gambling and veterans' courts in other suburban towns and villages, Montour's Problem Solving Court works to assist young people with drug abuse or dependency issues. Typically, the offenders face a criminal sentence and are given a chance to forgo that punishment in favor of successfully completing the Problem Solving Court.

"Lancaster is a community at-risk and much of the risk is related to drug issues with our youth," he said. "I saw how beneficial those programs were in other jurisdictions, and when I was elected, I thought it best that we form one in Lancaster."

Montour, who served as a Lancaster town council member for 12 years, founded the Problem Solving Court three years ago.

"We are finding that it is primarily opiates and heroin use that we see, and it is not only disrupting their lives but the lives of their families," he said. "My target is 16-17-18-year-old youths. These are typical kids who have problems that they need help with."

Montour said one of the benefits of the court is its size. Being a small court, he said, he has the opportunity to know the individual goals of each participant and monitor their progress more closely.

"I think it has been extremely successful. We have graduated about 14, and as far as I know of, we have had no arrests of those who have graduated," he said. "We have had two healthy babies born to our graduates, so it is going well."

Montour said it is a voluntary program, meaning those who are arrested can choose to accept their criminal conviction rather than participate in his alternative court, which requires them to stay drug-free. Despite the early successes of the court, he said those who choose not to take part show the pull of the addictions they are battling.

"It is typically offered to any youth that has a possession charge, and we are averaging about 25 kids at a time," he said. "But part of the problem is they are so addicted they don't know any life other than the addiction.

"It is something that I am truly humbled by," Montour said of the award. "I don't do it for personal accolades. I had a judge say to me one time, ‘You don't get paid, you're investing all this time, why are you doing this?' The only answer I could give him was it's the right thing to do."