National Judicial Opioid Task Force increases membership, launches online resource center showcasing innovative programs

National Judicial Opioid Task Force increases membership, launches online resource center showcasing innovative programs  

Williamsburg, Va., March 23, 2018 – The National Judicial Opioid Task Force has expanded its reach with the addition of 20 new members including judges, probation officers, attorneys, and representatives from children and family services. They join the task force’s eight-member executive committee, formed in September 2017, and made up of four members each from the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA).

CCJ and COSCA established the task force to make recommendations that address the opioid epidemic’s ongoing impact on the justice system. The misuse of opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain medicines is not only a devastating public health crisis, it is critically affecting the administration of justice in courthouses throughout the United States.

The task force also recently launched an Opioids and the Courts web page, an online resource center to provide courts with materials and information about how best to respond to the opioid epidemic. Currently the page provides statistics, a news roundup, and listings of available resources including child welfare, treatment interventions, and recommendations from national organizations. Other information, such as toolkits and bench cards are being developed and will be located on this site.   

Financial support for the task force comes from the State Justice Institute (SJI), including staffing support by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC).

Co-Chairs:

• Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush
• Tennessee State Court Administrator Deborah Taylor Tate

Executive Committee:

• Michael Buenger, Administrative Director of the Ohio Supreme Court
• Iowa Chief Justice Mark Cady
• Nancy Dixon, Kansas Judicial Administrator
• New Mexico Chief Justice Judith Nakamura
• Vermont Chief Justice Paul Rieber
• Corey Steel, Nebraska State Court Administrator

Task Force members:

• Lee Ann Barnhardt, State Judicial Educator, North Dakota
• Judge Anthony Capizzi, Montgomery County, Ohio Juvenile Court
• Judge Paula Carey, Chief Justice of the Trial Court, Massachusetts
• Shawn Cohn, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, Denver, Colorado
• Judge Shaun Floerke, District Court, Duluth, Minnesota
• Judge Craig Hannah, 8^th Judicial District Court of New York
• Sandi Hoppough, Chief Adult Probation Officer, Yuma County, Arizona
• Amy Kingery, State Problem Solving Court Coordinator, Colorado
• Judge Mary Jane Knisely, 13^th Judicial District of Montana
• Greg Lambard, Chief Probation Officer, Mount Holly, New Jersey
• Judge Lucinda Masterton, 22^nd Judicial Circuit of Kentucky
• Melanie Meadows, Drug Court Administrator, Chesterfield, Virginia
• Amy Miller, Deputy General Counsel, Salem, Oregon
• Sandra Moore, Director, Office of Children and Families in the Courts, Pennsylvania
• Chief Justice Tina Nadeau, New Hampshire Superior Court
• Judge Charles Peters, Circuit Court of Baltimore City, Maryland
• Judge Gregory Pinski, 8^th Judicial District of Montana
• Judge Duane Slone, 4^th Judicial Circuit of Tennessee
• Judge Alan Summers, Family Court, Birmingham, Alabama
• Judge Lynn Tepper, 6^th Judicial Circuit of Florida

The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts.