Multiple Pennsylvania courts, including one in Allegheny County, were found to have discriminated against people with Opioid Use Disorder the U.S. Department of Justice said it discovered during an investigation.
The Justice Department’s investigation found that the courts had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by “at times prohibiting and at other times limiting the use of disability-related medication” used to treat Opioid Use Disorder, according to the department’s findings released Monday.
Opioid Use Disorder if a form of a Substance Abuse Disorder where an individual becomes physically dependent on opioids. It is often treated with prescription medications like methadone or Suboxone to reduce a person’s dependency on the opioids.
“The county courts discriminated against the complainants in violation of the ADA by denying them an equal opportunity to benefit from court services, programs or activities — including probationary treatment court supervision — because of their disability,” the Justice Department said.
The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas’ Mental Health Court was found to have “problematic policies” in regards to the use of OUD medication by people under court supervision.
The county’s mental health court requires court approval for OUD medications, and cautions that exceptions are made “only on rare occasions.” Its policy also says that if a physician feels their client needs to be on any “prohibited prescription” to maintain a “certain quality of life” they may not be accepted into the Mental Health Court Program, according to the Justice Department.
The justice department’s investigation came about after three complainants — two from Jefferson County and one from Northumberland County — came forward.
The two complainants from Jefferson County alleged that the county’s Court of Common Pleas “ordered all probationers to stop using their prescribed medication of OUD” or they would be found in violation and sent to jail, the department said.
The department found that on Aug. 3, 2018, a Jefferson County judge had issued an administrative order that said anyone under the court’s supervision had to be “completely clean” within 30 days of being sentenced.
When the judge was questioned about the order by the department on Dec. 21, 2018, it was rescinded, the department said.
In Northumberland County, a different complainant was told that to graduate from drug court, she had to stop using her prescribed OUD medication.
The individual was never able to fully stop using her medication and graduated from the program after four years, despite its design as a two-year program.
“Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder are protected by the ADA but too often face discrimination rooted in stereotypes and myths rather than in science. This is exactly the sort of discrimination the ADA was designed to prevent,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
As a result, the Justice Department has told the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania that it must rewrite or adopt new policies that state no court within the UJS system may discriminate against individuals with disabilities because they have OUD.
Additionally, courts should name an ADA coordinator to monitor court programs and appropriately train all staff about OUD and nondiscrimination requirements of the ADA.
The Justice Department is also requiring the courts to submit written status reports detailing all the steps that were taken to meet the requirements they set forth.
A spokesperson for the Unified Judicial System said they had “no further information to offer at this time,” when contacted about the Justice Department’s findings. A spokesperson for Allegheny County’s courts could not be reached.
“Ensuring that court-involved individuals with Opioid Use Disorder have access to the medications they need is critical to support recovery efforts and to break the cycles of opioid addiction that have harmed families and communities across our country,” Ms. Clarke said.
First Published: February 8, 2022, 12:06 a.m.
