Drugs in America Today: What Every Judge Needs to Know

Who should attend?

This course has been specifically designed to be appropriate for any judge on the bench, as substance use can appear in any type of case.

Who are the members of the faculty?

Hon. Alan Blankenship

Judge Alan Blankenship is an Associate Circuit Judge in Stone County, Missouri, serving in that position since January 2003. He is the Chairman of the Missouri Supreme Court Treatment Court Committee and a member of the Trial Judge Education Committee. He serves as teaching faculty for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals for Adult Drug Court, DWI Court, and Veterans Treatment Court models and has presented on treatment court related topics at training programs around the country and for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He is a Fellow with the National Courts and Science Institute (formerly ASTAR, a U.S. Department of Justice program to train judges in advanced science and technology). He also serves on the Rural Justice Collaborative Advisory Council, a national board working towards improving justice systems in rural America, and is the Region 7 Judicial Outreach Liaison for the American Bar Association. He attended law school at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Judge Blankenship joined the faculty of The National Judicial College in 2022.

Carl M. Dawson

Mr. Carl M. Dawson is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Missouri. He has actively been working and lecturing in the field of Substance Use Disorders, Treatment and Recovery for the past 36 years. Mr. Dawson holds a Master of Science degree in Community Mental Health “Clinical” Psychology, from Pittsburg State University, in Pittsburg, Kansas. Mr. Dawson is a National Board Certified Counselor and a National Board Certified Master Addiction Counselor, which was granted by the National Board for Certified Counselors. He also holds a Level II Substance Abuse Counselor Certification, and is certified as a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) by the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board. He has maintained an independent practice in professional mental health counseling, specializing in Substance Use Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, Employee Assistance Programs, and Marriage and Family counseling, for over 25 years. Mr. Dawson is a member of the clinical faculty in the Departments of Psychology (undergraduate college), and the School of Mental Health Counseling (graduate college), Missouri State University (MSU), Springfield, Missouri. He is a consultant and lecturer for the State of Missouri/Greene County Drug Court Association and The Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association. He is also an educational consultant and faculty member of the National Drug Court Institute in Washington D.C. Mr. Dawson serves as a clinical consultant to regionally and nationally-based employee assistance programs, and is the national substance abuse consultant for O’Reilly Automotive, Ozark Distributors, Springfield, Missouri. He is also currently a member and associate member of the American Counselor’s Association. Mr. Dawson joined The National Judicial College faculty in 2015.

How is this course taught?

This course is taught through lecture, audio-visual aids, question and answer, class problems and simulations, and group learning. The course has a specific scientific information aim to aid the participant in really understanding the science behind drug addiction.

Whom should I contact for more information?

For more information, please contact the Registrar’s Office at (800) 255-8343 or registrar@judges.org.