Task Force Eyes New ‘Opioid Courts’
Group Organized By Legislature To Address Growing Number Of Cases Involving Opiates
TORRINGTON — In a city beset by the deadly effects of opioids, a task force of state legal minds and judicial officials met Tuesday to discuss the potential for courts dedicated to handling the criminal aspect of this epidemic.
The task force, headed by the chief court administrator, Judge Patrick L. Carroll III, was created amid ongoing efforts by the state legislature to address the opioid overdose crisis, which kills hundreds a year.
“This is a massive issue in the state of Connecticut,” Carroll said, opening Tuesday’s meeting inside the new courthouse in Torrington, a city among the hardest hit by the epidemic in terms of lives lost.
Last week, the office of the chief medical examiner released statistics showing that the opioid crisis continues with only marginal signs of slowing. The office projected 1,030 will die of drug overdoses, mostly from opioids, in 2018, a decrease of eight deaths from 2017.
Tuesday’s meeting, the first of three before the group is required to send a report to the General Assembly’s judiciary committee in January, comes amid a steady stream of opioid-related criminal cases coming into judicial districts across the state.
The task force was asked by the legislature, in a bill passed last session and signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, to explore if these cases would be better addressed in a specific court that specialized in handling matters involving opioid-dependent adults or children.
Carroll was joined Tuesday by two other judges, as well as the chief state’s attorney, chief public defender, commissioner of the Department of Correction, dean of the UConn Law School and staff from the Office Of Policy Management, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the judicial branch.
Under the new law, this group was asked to explore aspects including drug testing for arrestees, treatment placement options for opioid-dependent individuals and daily court monitoring, among other possible efforts.
Early comments from those on the task force centered on the sweeping nature of the crisis, which they said was more a public health issue than one solely seen in courthouses.
“The approach to addressing this can’t be solely placed in the judicial system,” Carroll said.
The meeting Tuesday focused largely on what the judicial branch already does for those who are drug-dependent.
Gary A. Roberge, head of the judicial branch’s court support services, said more than 19,000 drug cases were referred to treatment programs last year.
Roberge said the department contracts with 45 outpatient licensed clinics that provide evidence-based treatments. Anumber of those clinics also provide medicationassisted treatment, a growing standard to address opioid addiction.
“We have a robust network of treatment services,” Roberge said. The referrals and programs are available to all judicial districts.
The task force will meet again in October, when it will hear from DMHAS Commissioner Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, before working on a draft proposal and further discussion in a November meeting.