Meet S.F. young adult court's new judge - a former prosecutor, cop, and football player

"The new judge presiding over San Francisco's young adult court was a wide receiver at Tulane University. Old habits die hard: to Judge Eric Fleming, team sport dynamics are an apt metaphor for youth rehabilitation. The players are defendants ages 18 to 24. These are "high risk, high need" young adults getting a shot at having their charges dismissed - if they can make it through a year and a half or so of counseling and educational programming."

"These players are surrounded by a bevy of coaches: assistant district attorneys, defense attorneys, and case managers, who must all agree to divert each defendant from the traditional criminal justice system to young adult court. The head coach, and sometimes referee, is Fleming, who worked in the San Francisco district attorney's office for 13 years as a prosecutor before becoming a judge in 2017."

"Fleming takes a "firmer" approach than Judge Bruce Chan, his young adult court predecessor, said Celina Hennessey, the court's clinical program manager. At the same time, she continued, he's a "passionate" leader. "Coaches are hard on individuals they see potential in because they want to bring out that potential," Fleming said. Chan, a former defense attorney, helped create the court in 2015, along with then-District Attorney George Gascón and others."

Judge Eric Fleming leads San Francisco's young adult court and uses team-sport dynamics as a metaphor for youth rehabilitation. The court serves defendants ages 18 to 24 considered 'high risk, high need' and offers charges dismissal if participants complete roughly a year and a half of counseling and educational programming. Assistant district attorneys, defense attorneys, and case managers must agree to divert defendants into the program. Fleming previously worked 13 years in the San Francisco district attorney's office and became a judge in 2017. Fleming takes a 'firmer' approach than predecessor Bruce Chan while being described as a 'passionate' leader. The court was created in 2015 to address brain development in young adults.

Read at Mission Local