US Justice Department Sues State Courts Over Discrimination in Northumberland County
Northumberland County Discrimination Leads to Justice Department Suit of State Courts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US Justice Department has filed suit against the Pennsylvania court system for discrimination against people with Opioid Use Disorder. Northumberland County is named in the suit.
The Justice Department announced Thursday the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. It identified three individuals with the disorder who faced discrimination in Northumberland County or Jefferson County.
The Justice Department says an individual alleged Northumberland County Court required her to stop using her prescribed opioid disorder mediation to graduate from drug court.
It says two other individuals claimed Jefferson County Courts ordered all probationers to stop using their prescribed medications.
The department says it previously notified the court system its courts had engaged in these discrimination acts and had demanded the system address those civil rights violations.
