The Vanguard webinar on AB 1534 will be joined by renowned Professor Leo Beletsky, Professor of Law and Health Sciences and Faculty Director, Health in Justice at Northeastern University in Boston.
Leo Beletsky’s expertise is in the public health impact of laws and their enforcement, with a special focus on drug overdose, infectious disease transmission, and criminal justice reform through a public health lens.
Professor Beletsky is a frequent media commentator on public health law and policy, health equity and policing.
In a recent article in Commonwealth, Beletsky and John Messinger called on states to move to “end involuntary civil commitment” – “one of the biggest tragedies of COVID-19 behind bars has been in correctional institutions housing people who have not been convicted of a crime. This includes thousands of residents in Massachusetts — and other states – who are being involuntarily held because of their addiction.”
AB 1542 is a bill authored by Sacramento Area Assemblymember Kevin McCarty. While it starts out as a pilot program for Yolo County (next to Sacramento County) it has statewide implications.
It authorizes judges to sentence people to confinement in a locked treatment facility instead of prison or jail if the judge determines that their crime was motivated in part by substance abuse.
Join us on Friday, April 30 at noon as bill author Assemblymember Kevin McCarty joins a panel of experts to discuss the pros and cons of this legislation.
The Webinar
On April 30 at noon, we are hosting a webinar.
Panel:
Kevin McCarty, Assemblymember
Leo Beletsky, Professor of Law and Health Sciences and Faculty Director, Health in Justice
Kate Chatfield, Attorney and Criminal Justice Advocate
Kellen Russoniello, Drug Policy Alliance
Robert Canning, Clinical Psychologist, Retired, CDCR, Vanguard Board Member
To register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yRo3556UQ4ip5XQt7nA8mw
