The Justice Center is excited to announce the launch of a new online discussion forum, where policymakers and practitioners from across the country can exchange ideas, ask questions of each other and national experts, offer comments and suggestions, and network around their collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives.

Judge Brent Moss, of Rexburg, Idaho, passed away on Thursday, June 24, 2010, after a battle with cancer. Judge Moss is nationally recognized for his work pioneering problem-solving approaches to criminal justice, including the formation of the Bonneville County, Idaho, Mental Health Court, the first of its kind in Idaho and one of the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Mental Health Court Learning Sites.

Before his appointment to the bench by Governor Cecil Andrus in 1985, Judge Moss served as a prosecutor in Teton and Madison counties. In 2002, he spearheaded efforts to create the 7th Judicial District (Bonneville County) Mental Health Court to better address the needs of individuals with mental illnesses who came into his courtroom. Following Judge Moss’s lead, there are now ten separate mental health courts throughout the state.

"Judge Moss’s compassion for individuals with mental illness involved in the justice system was extraordinary. Those in all three branches of government recognized his leadership and vision for mental health courts in Idaho," said Patricia Tobias, administrative director of the Supreme Court of Idaho and a member of the Justice Center Board of Directors, quoted in the Rexburg Standard Journal. "Judge Moss was also recognized nationwide by the leading experts in this field. His passion, commitment, and many kindnesses to so many will inspire us forever."

Even after his retirement in March 2009, Judge Moss continued to work on this issue as advisor to Idaho’s Chief Justice’s Criminal Justice Mental Health Initiative, a state-level task force focused on identifying and coordinating promising practices throughout the state.

It has been an honor for Justice Center staff to work with Judge Moss over the years and to be inspired by his continuous dedication to thoughtful and innovative improvements to the criminal justice system.

The Council of State Governments Justice Center, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), has issued a request for applications from law enforcement agencies interested in participating in a new initiative that will focus on identifying agencies with a range of effective specialized policing responses to serve as resources for other law enforcement agencies nationwide.