At this year’s Human Rights Lecture, Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, County Court Judge of the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida will speak about her experience as presiding Judge of America’s first Mental Health Court. As described by Judge Wren, the court seeks to divert mentally ill persons, charged with misdemeanor (summary) and non-violent offences, into community based treatment as an alternative to incarceration. The Court defines itself as a human-rights strategy, prioritizing dignity and restorative justice goals.
The lecture is brought to you by the Human Rights and Equality Committee in partnership with the Law Society Professional Training.
Chairperson - Gary Lee
The lecture will be chaired by Gary Lee. Gary Lee is a member of the Council of the Law Society of Ireland and Chair of its Human Rights and Equality Committee. He is a solicitor in the Office of the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court. Prior to his present position, Gary was Managing Solicitor of Ballymun Community Law Centre. He has extensive experience in Disability Law and Mental Health Law. He has chaired Mental Health Tribunals for the past 16 years and is a former chairperson of the Disability Federation of Ireland. Gary has been appointed by Government to a number of bodies including the National Disability Strategy Implementation Group, the Value for Money Review of Disabilities Services Working Group and the Government Taskforce on Personalised Budgets.
Speaker
Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, County Court Judge, Florida.
Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren is currently the presiding County Court Judge of the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida. She pioneered the nation’s first therapeutic Mental Health Court in 1997 which has been dedicated to the decriminalization of persons with mental illnesses and neurological disorders. The Court defines itself as a human-rights strategy, prioritizing dignity and restorative justice goals and seeks to divert mentally ill persons, charged with misdemeanor and non-violent offences, into community based treatment as an alternative to incarceration. Judge Lerner-Wren is an adjunct professor for Nova Southeastern University's College of Psychology. She is an expert in therapeutic jurisprudence and problem solving justice and speaks nationally and internationally on mental health courts and policy, therapeutic justice, and cultural change leadership and the law.
Please Note: