Supreme Judicial Court
Standards on Substance Abuse

STANDARD XVI. Community Resources. ⁽⁹⁾ Every court should identify the specific resources available in the community for the treatment of substance abuse, and establish and maintain relationships with local treatment providers. If services for a diverse population are not available in the community, the court should determine where such services are available and develop and maintain relationships with the providers of those services.

COMMENTARY: In each court, the effectiveness of the substance abuse strategy will depend in large measure on knowledge of treatment resources in the local community and the cultivation of relationships with various providers. Often, for example, the ability to find a bed at an in-patient facility springs from the personal knowledge of a judge or probation officer about the facility and its personnel. The judge and the probation officer, therefore, should acquire a thorough understanding of treatment providers in the local community and should be aware of the meeting times and places in the community for self help recovery groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). The directory developed pursuant to Standard XV should be used as a resource for identifying facilities to serve a diverse population.

STANDARD XVII. Communication and Collaboration Within Court and With Community. All court staff, treatment providers, prosecutors, police, defense counsel, correctional authorities, and the media should communicate clearly with one another on substance abuse issues. The first, regional administrative, or chief justice, as applicable, of each court should promote communication and collaboration on substance abuse issues within the court, as well as between the court and the community.

COMMENTARY: A relationship with the community is critical to ensuring the success of every court's response to substance abuse. It is important that the defense bar and assistant district attorneys understand that the clients and the community are the beneficiaries of the courts' actions with respect to substance abuse. Police should be encouraged to attend and, if possible, be part of the faculty in any court sponsored training program. The local bar association should be encouraged to take part in a public meeting where the courts' substance abuse strategy is explained. Probation officers should meet with treatment providers, in order to form collegial relationships and facilitate appropriate referrals. Of course, all court personnel should avoid creating any actual or apparent conflict of interest through their relationships with treatment providers. The business community and the schools have important roles to play in providing recovering substance abusers with jobs and education. Community-based organizations, including the faith community, can help to foster communication between the courts and the public regarding the courts' response to substance abuse services available in the community and the community's particular problems. The media should be made aware of the court's approach to substance abuse, and court leaders should consult with the court system's Public Information Office about outreach to the media concerning new initiatives and success stories. One way of forming and enhancing these community relationships is to establish an advisory committee for a court or group of courts as a forum for communication between the courts and the community. The community corrections advisory boards required by G.L. c. 211F, §6 and the Substance Abuse Leadership Teams formed during the Judicial Institute substance abuse training programs may also contribute to communication and collaboration on substance abuse issues within the courts and between the courts and the community.

STANDARD XVIII. Use of Courthouse for Recovery and Education Sessions. The justices who have administrative responsibility for courthouses are encouraged to seek permission from the Chief Justice for Administration and Management of the Trial Court to authorize access to the court buildings for court-referred recovery meetings, counseling sessions, and substance abuse education group meetings, in order to ensure that security and other issues are addressed. All courts are encouraged to refer defendants to such meetings and sessions in the court building.

COMMENTARY: Many courts already offer space for counseling, recovery meetings, and education groups for parties referred by the court. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous or Rational Recovery meetings are held at a number of courts. While most of these courthouse meetings occur in the evenings, several courts hold daily lunchtime AA meetings in the courthouse. Narcotics Anonymous meetings occur regularly in a few courts, while other courts accommodate drug education and drug prevention programs.

Substance abusers benefit psychologically when they enter the court as part of a group of self-respecting, recovering addicts helping one another. The courthouse changes from a place of shame and loss of control over one's life to one of strength and hope. This effect is magnified if court personnel, such as probation officers and judges, attend these meetings to give those in recovery some positive feedback concerning their success in staying away from alcohol or drugs.

Additionally, the courts are usually centrally located and easily accessible to the local community by public transportation. This can be an important factor in facilitating attendance.

Any group wishing to conduct courthouse meetings must seek permission from the Chief Justice for Administration and Management, in order to ensure that security and other issues are addressed.

STANDARD XIX. Substance Abuse Within Courts. The court system should respond to substance abuse among judges, clerks, court personnel, and lawyers. The response should include the creation of opportunities to receive referrals for treatment and the recognition by disciplinary authorities that required participation in treatment can be an appropriate condition of discipline.

COMMENTARY: The people who work in the court system are part of society, and hence are vulnerable to the disease of substance abuse. Justice will be better administered if the court system responds to this problem among its own personnel. The efforts of the judiciary to address substance abuse when it is a factor in cases will have far greater credibility and will be far more effective if the court system addresses the issue when it affects people who work within it. Personnel policies throughout the court system should include standards for addressing the problem of substance abuse. The Trial Court Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual, the Appellate Courts' Personnel Policies, the Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Committee on Professional Responsibility for Clerks of the Courts, and the Board of Bar Overseers should take substance abuse into account in employment policies and disciplinary remedies. A judges' group within Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers is a valuable resource.

STANDARD XX. Substance Abuse Among Attorneys. Any judge or clerk-magistrate who believes that substance abuse is a factor in the professional performance of an attorney appearing before him or her should refer the attorney to a lawyers' assistance program, or, if the performance amounts to professional misconduct, report the misconduct to the Board of Bar Overseers. If the issue of professional performance arises in connection with an imminent proceeding in an active matter, the judge or clerk should make inquiries and, if necessary, postpone the proceeding.

COMMENTARY: The most extensive lawyers' assistance program is Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, a group of lawyers and judges who stand ready, willing, and able to assist other lawyers and judges who have problems with alcoholism and addiction. A judge who becomes aware of unprofessional conduct by a lawyer is required to "initiate appropriate investigative or disciplinary measures." See SJC Rule 3:09, Canon 3(B)(3)(b). If the attorney was assigned the case by the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the court should notify CPCS, pursuant to G.L. c. 211D, §10. The Board of Bar Overseers is bound by specific rules regarding what to do with an alcoholic or addicted lawyer. See SJC Rule 4:01, §13, pars. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, which address the response by the Board of Bar Overseers to the issue of incapacity of a lawyer.

9. Identification of Community Resources is called for by Standards 10:04 and 10:05 of the Commissioner of Probation's Standards for Supervision for Probation Offices of the Superior Court Department, District Court Department, Boston Municipal Court Department and the Juvenile Court Department.

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