Judge Steve Leifman on The Criminalization of Mental Illness

Join us in person at Carroll College’s Simperman Hall September 20, 7:00 PM or join to ask questions on our livestream on this page or on the namimt.org home page during the event.

First elected to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in 1995, Judge Leifman’s tenure has been notable for his commitment to improving mental health treatment and options within the judicial system.

In 2000, he created the Criminal Mental Health Project, a program which diverts people with mental illnesses away from jails and into community-based treatment. As of 2016, the program has helped 4,000 people stay out of jail, and only six percent of graduates re-offend.

Beginning in 2007, Judge Leifman has served as the Special Advisor on Criminal Justice and Mental Health for the Supreme Court of Florida.

He received the 2012 Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s Productive Lives Award and was the first Floridian judge to receive the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence from Chief Justice John Roberts.

He holds a B.S. from American University, a J.D. from Florida State University, and sits on the board of the American Psychiatric Foundation.