NSU Newsroom
SharkBytes
Horizons
This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Local Judge to Address Alternative Sentencing for ‘Offenders With Mental Illness’ at Law Center, Oct. 20
Miami-Dade County Judge Steve Leifman.
Miami-Dade County Judge Steve Leifman is scheduled to speak on Thursday, October 20, at 6:00 p.m. at the Shepard Broad Law Center faculty lounge. His presentation will be titled “Alternative Sentencing Initiatives for Offenders With Mental Illness.”
Judge Steven Leifman is at the forefront of a movement to reduce the number of people with mental illness in prison and to develop alternative approaches that offer treatment and support for recovery.
Judge Leifman is an Associate Administrative Judge in the Miami-Dade County Court Criminal Division and Special Advisor on Criminal Justice and Mental Health for the Supreme Court of Florida. He is chairman of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida’s Mental Health Committee, co-chair of the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force and serves on a statewide task force to improve Florida’s mental health system. In addition, he is a national leader on mental health reform within the criminal justice system as a member of several organizations, including the National Leadership Forum for Behavioral Health.
Judge Leifman has also been featured on many television and radio programs regarding mental health and the criminal justice system including, CNN: Special Investigations Unit, The Criminally Insane; PBS, Minds on the Edge: Facing Mental Illness; and National Public Radio (NPR).
Listen to a recent NPR segment where he discussed this topic here: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/04/140167676/nations-jails-struggle-with-mentally-ill-prisoners