PANEL: How Can Specialty Courts Increase Access to Justice

With more than 200 specialty courts, including Drug and Sobriety Courts, Mental Health Courts, Veterans Treatment Courts and others, Michigan is a national leader in creating innovative court programs for people who interact with the justice system. These specialty courts work holistically with adults and youth to offer services and opportunities that foster healing and resiliency, empowerment and stability, with the ultimate goal of reducing recidivism and improving lives. This session explores how specialty courts are reframing “justice” and just outcomes and how these courts increase access to and opportunities for just outcomes. Panelists explore these topics through the lens of their experiences with tribal court, adult mental health court, juvenile human trafficking court, and unhomed persons court. In this session, you will:

Reframing “Just” Outcomes and Access to Justice: Be asked to think differently about what are just outcomes in our court systems and what role specialty court practices can play in improving peoples access to those just outcomes.

Judicial Decision Making: Gain insight into systemic problems and institutional failures that contribute to adults and youth coming into contact with our court systems and how an understanding for those barriers can inform a judge’s holistic approach to treating the person in front of them.

Innovation in Specialty Courts: Learn about the variety of specialty courts that exist, their unique methods to achieve common goals, and ways to incorporate specialty court practices into any court, even if community and institutional resources are a barrier.

<https://www.nawj.org/past-midyear-conferences/2025-midyear-conference>

Panelists:
Hon. Megan Cavanagh (Moderator)
Hon. Mariam Bazzi
Hon. Shauna Dunnings
Hon. Allie Maldonado
Mr. Jayesh Patel