Bucks Writs - Summer 2017 - 22

feature
Given Boylan's vast experience in presiding in
Juvenile Court, it's not surprising that she's
particularly interested in using early intervention methods to address young offender's
criminal behavior. The Youthful Offender's
Program is geared to criminal defendants,
aged 18 to 24 years, who fit the profile of
persons who may benefit from alternatives to
traditional sentencing practices.

Judge Rea Boylan
- Chris Serpico

Rea Boylan was sworn in as a judge of the Bucks
County Court of Common Pleas on January 3, 2000.
So as difficult as it may be for some of us "old-timers"
to imagine, she's now been a judge on the Bucks County
Bench for over seventeen years. These days, she spends
most of her time sitting in criminal court and Juvenile
Court, as well as administering Drug Court and several of
the Court's diversion programs.

will most probably emerge from their situation without a
felony criminal conviction. Not so for the 19 year old who
was their co-conspirator. He or she carries a felony conviction
for life, with all the attendant consequences that "scarlet
letter" can carry. Whereas if that young offender is deemed
eligible for the Youthful Offender Program, he or she can
potentially have the felony dismissed. In order to qualify
for that result, following a risk assessment, there might be
sanctions involving community service hours; a drug and
alcohol assessment with treatment as recommended; and, in
some cases, a thirty day program at Diakon, which requires
an Outward Bound type experience. In some cases, scholarships are awarded to eligible applicants, as the costs for a
thirty day stay at Diakon can range from $6,000 to $8,000.

Judge Boylan is a graduate of Dickinson College and Law
School. She served initially as a Bucks County Assistant
Public Defender and later as an Assistant District Attorney in
this county. For eight years she practiced law with the firm
of Curtin and Heefner. She was also a partner in the law
firm of Boylan and Serpico for five years. During her later
years in private practice she served for several years as Bucks
County's Controller until she was named to the judiciary.

Judge Boylan also supervises Drug Court. Along with
Senior Judge John Rufe, a total of approximately seventy
defendants facing serious drug charges may be deemed
eligible to participate in Bucks County Drug Court. The
program, which has now been in existence for seven
years, requires eligible defendants to undergo intensive
supervision, involving frequent court hearings, scheduled
to monitor the progress each defendant is making in his
or her battle to escape the scars of addiction. She is proud
of the program's 133 graduates to date. Often times the
motivation to apply for Drug Court is the defendant's
desire to avoid a possible state prison sentence which
tends to sharply focus the offender's goal of getting and
remaining clean. With so many years of experience in
dealing with drug offenders, Judge Boylan has learned
that "it's important not to sanction the relapse, as much as
sanction the lie that led to the relapse in the first place".

My interview with Judge Boylan focused on several of the
programs, primarily aimed at helping youthful offenders,
in which she has devoted much of her time and attention.
There are three programs she's been continually involved
with: The Youthful Offenders Program; Drug Court; and
the Community Accountability Program, or "CAP".
Given her vast experience in presiding in Juvenile Court, it's
not surprising that she's particularly interested in using early
intervention methods to address young offender's criminal
behavior. The Youthful Offender's Program is geared to
criminal defendants, aged 18 to 24 years, who fit the profile
of persons who may benefit from alternatives to traditional
sentencing practices. For example, if a group of three young
people are arrested for stealing a case of beer out of a
residential garage, they may be charged with felony burglary.
Let's assume that two of the youngsters are 17 years old.
As juveniles, not only are they eligible for an array of intervention programs offered by the Juvenile Court system, if
they comply with the conditions of Juvenile Probation, they

We also discussed the harsh reality that mentally ill people
are more likely to end up in jail when they can't get proper

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bucks Writs - Summer 2017