For the past twenty-five years, Judge Steve Leifman has been at the forefront of the mental health and criminal justice reform movement in the United States, becoming one of the leading authorities on mental health and justice issues in the United States. His efforts have fueled a national movement to improve, reform, and modernize the states' and courts' response to people with serious mental illnesses. In 2000, he created Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project, later renamed to the Jail Diversion Project (JDP), which has since become a blueprint for criminal justice reform across the country. In 2023, Judge Leifman was bestowed the Papal Medal Benemerenti from Pope Francis for his work in the judicial system on behalf of people with mental illnesses. He is the recipient of the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, is on the Board of Directors of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, and is member of the National Leadership Forum for Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Service and the American Bar Association Task Force on Criminal Justice Mental Health Standards. Judge Leifman and his work have been featured on CBS News, PBS Newshour, CNN, NBC Nightly News, NPR's All Things Considered, The Atlantic, the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Miami Herald among many others. He lives in Miami, Florida.
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"Judge Steve Leifman is that rare jurist whose wisdom is tempered with compassion and an unfailing desire to improve the lives of those with mental illnesses and substance abuse. We need to listen to this modern-day Dorothea Dix reformer in a black judicial robe who offers readers a sensible path toward ending the shameful use of jails and prisons as mental asylums. I've read a lot of books about mental illness. This ranks among the most important."--Pete Earley, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness "Judge Steve Leifman puts a human face on mental illnesses by sharing stories about Americans trapped in an insane criminal justice system that too often fritters away tax dollars, causes additional suffering and puts communities at risk. Thankfully, he offers us a pathway out of this quagmire with effective solutions based on his groundbreaking work in Miami. A must read for anyone who cares about justice and how we treat those who live on the fringes of our society."--Patrick J. Kennedy, former Congressman, mental health advocate, and New York Times bestselling author of A Common Struggle and Profiles in Mental Health Courage "Judge Steve Leifman is a miracle worker. Everyone who visits the 11th Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project in Miami-Dade County is blown away by what it does and what it has accomplished. It is now widely known as The Miami Model, and is being emulated across the country; a way to reform the criminal justice system, the police and the mental health care system, finding ways to save lives and save money at the same time. The story of how it came about, how Leifman managed to overcome the multiple obstacles and build support across every conceivable political line, is mesmerizing and Leifman tells if in a compelling and readable fashion. Butit is more than a good read--it is a template for a better future."--Norm Ornstein, New York times bestselling author of One Nation After Trump