ADA Lawsuits and MOUD in Treatment Courts

ADA Lawsuits and MOUD: Ensuring Compliance in Treatment Courts

Is your Treatment Court at Risk? By Hon. Geno Salomone (Ret.) and Hon. Brian MacKenzie (Ret.) As of this article’s writing, there are still a large number of judges who persist in withholding medications from individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), arguing that it merely replaces one addictive substance with another.[1] Similarly, certain probation or corrections
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Procedural Fairness in Probation

Incorporating Procedural Fairness into Community Supervision

The evidence supporting the importance of procedural fairness (PF) in maintaining judicial legitimacy and improving defendant outcomes is significant. PF refers to the idea that courts and other criminal justice institution can create a process that is universally perceived as fair and impartial using four key components: voice, respectful treatment, neutrality, and trust.  Substantial evidence establishes
court training programs

JSI Leads Court Training Programs Across Australia

This past October, the Justice Speakers Institute’s (JSI) three partners — David Wallace, Mack Jenkins, and Brian MacKenzie —conducted a series of court training programs, presentations, and interviews in Australia, beginning in the city of Hobart and then later in the city of Melbourne. Training in Hobart, Tasmania Hobart is the capital and largest city
  • Published in Law

Driving Change: NEARCP Leaders on the Power of Recovery Courts

NEARCP leaders Judge Ziemian and Justice Nadeau share insights on Treatment Courts' success, addressing collaboration, challenges, and their transformative impact in New England.
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Prosecutors for Prosecutors

Prosecutors for Prosecutors: Saving Lives and Defending the Rule of Law

David Wallace and David LaBahn discuss the Prosecutors for Prosecutors campaign, its mission to save Afghan prosecutors, and the fight for justice and safety.
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Fairness in the courts

Why Fairness in the Courts Looks Different to Judges and the Public

Legal training tends to emphasize a set of criteria for evaluating fairness in the courts that differs in some notable respects from those the public uses when deciding what is fair and what promotes trust. That gap creates the potential for misunderstanding when judges set out to define what the public expects and the quality
admissibility of scientific evidence

Understanding the Admissibility of Scientific Evidence in Court

Have you ever heard of the “Daubert/Frye” test? The apparent merging of the Frye and Daubert standards reflects a certain confusion that exists on the appropriate legal standard for the admissibility of scientific evidence, particularly in criminal cases. While the standard for the admission of scientific evidence can vary widely from federal courts to state courts and from state to
  • Published in Law
Community Courts

How Community Courts Build Trust and Improve Outcomes

The implementation of Community Courts demonstrate how courts and individual judges can signal to the general public that they are respectful, neutral, careful listeners, and caring decision-makers, thus satisfying the four elements of procedural justice.
supportive housing for recovery

Supportive Housing for Recovery: A Key to Treatment Court Success

By Judge Brian MacKenzie (Ret.) and Judge Harvey Hoffman (Ret.) Introduction Prescription opiate and heroin abuse has reached epidemic proportions.  Increasing numbers of individuals with prescription opiate and heroin use disorders are finding their way into the Criminal Justice System. Specialty Courts have proven themselves to be an effective response in addressing substance use disorders of
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Veteran Treatment Court racial equity

Black Words Matter: Racial Equity in Veteran Treatment Court Policies

Without Change, the Absence of Race Within Veteran Treatment Court Policies Will Continue to Destructively Impact African American Veterans Veteran Treatment Courts (VTCs), one of several treatment court models, all create policies that govern their programs. VTCs are not impervious to acts that discriminate against African American veterans who are either participants or eligible to participate
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