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Standards on Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health Conditions: Standard XI. Substance use disorders, mental health conditions, and co-occurring disorders in the courts

Standards adopted by the Supreme Judicial Court, acting on the advice of the Working Group on Substance Use and Mental Health.
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Standard XI

The court system should respond to substance use disorders, mental health conditions, and co-occurring disorders among judges, clerks, and court personnel. The response should include opportunities to receive referrals for treatment through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and recognition by appropriate authorities that required participation in treatment can be an appropriate condition of employment.

Commentary

Individuals who work in the court system can be vulnerable to substance use, mental health, and co-occurring disorders. Providing information to court personnel on ways to access treatment will strengthen the system overall. Personnel policies in the court system should include provisions for addressing issues related to substance use, mental health, and co-occurring disorders. 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 these issues into account in employment policies and corrective action plans. The Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers organization and the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being are also valuable resources. Trial Court judges and personnel may also utilize the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), offered by the Group Insurance Commission.

Contact   for Standards on Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health Conditions: Standard XI. Substance use disorders, mental health conditions, and co-occurring disorders in the courts

Online

- More contact information for the SJC 
- More contact information for the Clerk's Office for the Commonwealth 
- More contact information for the Clerk's Office for the County of Suffolk 
- More contact information for the Public Information Office 
- Contact information for the ADA Coordinator at the SJC 

Phone

Main number Call Supreme Judicial Court, Main number at (617) 557-1000
Clerks' Offices Emergency Number Call Supreme Judicial Court, Clerks' Offices Emergency Number at (857) 275-8036
Clerk's Office for the Commonwealth Call Supreme Judicial Court, Clerk's Office for the Commonwealth at (617) 557-1020

Maura A. Looney, Esq., Clerk

Clerk's Office for the County of Suffolk Call Supreme Judicial Court, Clerk's Office for the County of Suffolk at (617) 557-1100

Maura S. Doyle, Clerk

Public Information Office Call Supreme Judicial Court, Public Information Office at (617) 557-1114

Jennifer Donahue, Public Information Officer

Address

John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108
Directions 

5. "Abstinence from alcohol and other drugs is the recommended goal for all drug addiction treatment." Terence T. Gorski, John M. Kelley, and Lisa Havens, Relapse Prevention and the Substance Abusing Offender: An Executive Briefing, p.12. Technical Assistance Publication Series, Number 8, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1993, 1995.
"Recovery involves ....abstaining from alcohol and other drugs." Relapse and Recovery, p.12, Massachusetts Probation Service, 1998

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