Judicial Issues in California

Stephen Vincent Manley, Jr. (b. 1941) is a Superior Court judge in Santa Clara County and is a founder of the Mental Health Treatment Court. He has been recognized as a pioneer in the use of "problem-solving" drug courts and mental health courts.  First appointed to the California superior courts by Governor Jerry Brown in 1977, he became a Superior Court judge in 1998. In 1996, Manley founded the Drug Treatment Court in Santa Clara County and in 1998 he founded the Santa Clara County Mental Health Treatment Court. Manley has been a noted commentator on California's Proposition 47, enacted in 2015, which reduces many drug offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. Manley travels to other counties in the State and other States in the USA, presenting training for local mental health boards and commissions.