Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee

May 24, 2023 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee (Open Meeting with Closed Session)

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. 

• Notice and Agenda

May 16, 2023 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee (Open)

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Notice and Agenda
• Materials

May 10, 2023 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee: Mental Health Subcommittee (Closed)

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Notice and Agenda

April 26, 2023 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee (Open meeting with Closed Session)

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Notice and Agenda
• Materials

April 12, 2023 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee: Mental Health Subcommittee (Closed)

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Notice and Agenda
• Minutes (updated 05/16/2023)

March 23, 2023 Juvenile Subcommittee of the Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meeting (Closed)

12:15 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.

• Notice and Agenda

March 22, 2023 Open meeting with Closed Session

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Notice and Agenda

March 17, 2023 Veterans in the Court and military Families Subcommittee Meeting (Closed)

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Notice and Agenda

March 15, 2023 Mental Health Subcommittee Meeting (Closed)

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Notice and Agenda
• Minutes

Previous Meetings

• 2023 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2022 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2021 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2020 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2019 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2018 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2017 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2016 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2015 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings
• 2014 Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee Meetings

Download the committee roster. 

• Hon. Lawrence G. Brown, Chair, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento
• Mr. Brian Bloom, Assistant Public Defender (retired), Alameda County
• Mr. Scott D. Brown, Special Projects Manager, Superior Court of California, County of San Diego
• Mr. Aaron Michael Buck, Treatment Court Graduate, Superior Court of California, County of Sierra
• Ms. Crystal L. Davis, Division Manager, Ventura County Probation Agency
• Ms. Debra Dugan, Deputy Manager, Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara
• Mr. Mark Gale, Criminal Justice Chair, NAMI Los Angeles County Council
• Tony Hobson, PhD, Behavioral Health Director, Plumas County Behavioral Health
• Hon. Kathleen Kelly, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
• Hon. Karla D. Kerlin, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
• Hon. Sam Lavorato, Jr., Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Monterey
• Ms. Veronica D. Lewis, Director, Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System
• Hon. Stephen V. Manley, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara
• Ms. Rebecca Marcus, Deputy Public Defender, San Francisco Public Defender’s Office
• Mrs. Katie Mayeda, Mayeda Consulting
• Ms. Kimberly McKinney Tighe, Clinical Program Coordinator, Shasta County Health & Human Services Agency
• Hon. Eileen C. Moore, Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal Fourth Appellate District, Division Three
• Mr. Randolph Peshon, Undersheriff (retired), El Dorado County Sheriff's Office
• Mr. Brandon E. Riley, Court Executive Officer, Superior Court of California, County of San Joaquin
• Hon. Charles A. Smiley, III, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda
• Ms. Rachel Solov, Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County District Attorney
• Hon. Mary K. Varipapa, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Orange
• Dr. Kathleen West, Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families Los Angeles

TCPJAC Liaison

• Hon. Charles H. Ervin, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Sierra

OGA Liaisons

• Ms. Andi Liebenbaum, Attorney - Children and Families, Governmental Affairs, Judicial Council of California
• Ms. Sharon Reilly, Attorney, Adult Criminal Governmental Affairs, Judicial Council of California

Judicial Council Staff to the Committee

• Ms. Deanna Adams, Senior Analyst, Criminal Justice Services, Operations & Programs Division, Judicial Council of California
• Ms. Carrie Zoller, Supervising Attorney, Center for Families, Children & the Courts, Judicial Council of California

DUI Subcommittee

• Hon. Rogelio Flores, Ret. Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara
• Hon. Lawrence Brown, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento
• Hon. Mary Kreber Varipapa, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Orange
• Scott Brown, Special Projects Manager, Superior Court of California, County of San Diego
• Dr. Kathleen West, Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families Los Angeles

Juvenile Subcommittee

• Hon. Kathleen Kelly (Chair), Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
• Ms. Crystal L. Davis, Division Manager, Ventura County Probation Agency
• Ms. Veronica D. Lewis, Director, Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System
• Ms. Rebecca Marcus, Deputy Public Defender, San Francisco Public Defender’s Office
• Mrs. Katie Mayeda, Mayeda Consulting
• Hon. Charles A. Smiley, III, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda
• Ms. Rachel B. Solov, Chief Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
• Kathleen West, DrPH, Instructor, Department of Social Welfare, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Mental Health Subcommittee

• Hon. Stephen V. Manley, Chair, Judge of the Superior Court of CA, County of Santa Clara
• Hon. Lawrence G. Brown, Judge of the Superior Court of CA, County of Sacramento
• Hon. Mary Kreber Varipapa, Judge of the Superior Court of CA, County of Orange
• Hon. Karla D. Kerlin,  Judge of the Superior Court of CA, County of Los Angeles
• Ms. Rachel B. Solov, Chief Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County District Attorney
• Undersheriff Randolph Peshon (Ret’d), El Dorado County Sherriff’s Office, Placerville
• Dr. Kathleen West, Instructor, Department of Social Welfare, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
• Mr. Tony Hobson, Ph.D. Behavioral Health Director, Colusa County
• Ms. Katherine Mayeda, Mayeda Consulting, Community based provider
• Mr. Mark Gale, Board of Directors, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) CA
• Mr Brian Bloom, Public Member, Assistant Public Defender Alameda County (Ret’d)

Veterans in the Court and Military Families

• Hon. Eileen C. Moore—Chair, Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three
• Mr. Michael L Elliott, Acting Court Executive Officer, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Fresno
• Hon. Sam Lavorato, Jr., Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Monterey
• Hon. Stephen V. Manley, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara
• Hon. Mary K. Varipapa, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Orange
• Kathleen West, DrPH, Instructor, Department of Social Welfare, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

The Judicial Council of California's Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee, created pursuant to rule 10.56 of the California Rules of Court, makes recommendations to the Judicial Council for developing collaborative justice courts, improving case processing, and overseeing the evaluation of these courts throughout the state. Examples of collaborative justice courts include drug courts, mental health courts, youth or peer courts, homeless courts, community courts, veterans' courts, parolee reentry courts and elder courts.

Background
Collaborative justice courts, sometimes referred to as problem-solving courts,
combine judicial supervision with intensive social and treatment services to offenders in lieu of jail or prisons. Collaborative justice principles include a multidisciplinary, non-adversarial team approach with involvement from the court, attorneys, law enforcement, and community treatment and service agencies to address offenders' complex social and behavioral problems. There are over 450 collaborative justice courts operating in California, with a collaborative court in nearly every jurisdiction.

Committee Structure
The Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee is chaired by Judge Richard Vlavianos, Superior Court of San Joaquin County. Per rule 10.56 of the California Rules of Court, the committee comprises at least five judicial officers, a judicial administrators, a district attorney, a law enforcement representative, a public defender, a treatment providers, a probation officer, one treatment court-coordinator, a treatment court graduate and a public member.

The mission of the Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee is to do the following:

• Make recommendations to the Judicial Council on criteria for identifying and evaluating collaborative justice courts;
• Assess and measure the success and effectiveness of collaborative justice courts;
• Identify local best practices;
• Recommend minimum judicial education standards and educational activities;
• Advise the council of potential funding sources;
• Make recommendations on grant funding programs administered by the AOC;
• Recommend appropriate outreach activities to support collaborative justice courts.

Several committee projects have been developed to achieve these goals. Outreach and education activities include sponsoring annual conferences for peer and youth courts, drug and mental health courts, and homeless courts; developing internship programs for law school and social work students in collaborative courts throughout the state; and providing judicial education curricula in collaborative justice, mental health courts, DUI projects, and veterans' court programs. Research and evaluation projects include evaluations of mental health courts and parolee reentry courts, as well as a cost-benefit study of California's adult drug courts and the implementation of a web- based cost self-assessment tool that is available to drug courts interested in identifying their own costs and benefits.

The committee also makes funding allocation recommendations for the distribution of the Judicial Council Collaborative Justice Substance Abuse Focus Grant; assists local collaborative justice courts in grant and funding development; and co- administers state drug court funding with the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. The committee promotes the institutionalization, expansion, and enhancement of collaborative justice courts throughout the state by providing policy guidance to the Judicial Council and by establishing linkages with justice system partners at the state and local level.