BIOGRAPHY
JJudge Mark G. Farrell is the Senior Justice in the Amherst, New York Criminal and Civil Court, which operates in the largest suburban jurisdiction in New York State. Judge Farrell also serves in the capacity of an Acting City Court Judge in the City of Buffalo Court. In terms of academic appointment, Judge Farrell is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Law at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law teaching a senior practicum entitled Therapeutic Justice and is also a Research Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at the State University of New York at Buffalo as Principal Investigator on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 3-year clinical intervention grant. Judge Farrell's research initiatives in this area are focused on establishing the first national protocol for the proper triage and referral to treatment of mentally ill defendants who are also co-morbidly drug, alcohol and/or gambling dependant in a Drug Court setting.
Judge Farrell founded the first suburban Drug Court in the United States in 1996, the first Domestic Violence Court in Erie County in 1997 and currently operates the nation's only Gambling Treatment Court which opened its doors in 2001. Judge Farrell is a Distinguished Alumnus of the State University of New York at Buffalo and a graduate of both the National Drug Court Institute and the National Judicial College. Judge Farrell is also on the Board of Directors of the National Council of Problem Gambling, the Board of Directors of the New York State Drug Treatment Court Professionals Association and the New York State Compulsive Gambling Council. Judge Farrell is a member of the New York State City Court Judge's Association and is the current President of the New York State Magistrate's Association. Judge Farrell is presently involved in a comprehensive review of the Local Courts System in the State of New York as a Commissioner on the Special Commission for the Future of New York Courts as a result of his appointment by the Chief Judge of the State of New York.
Judge Farrell has received numerous national, regional and local recognitions for his judicial innovations, especially in terms of intervention into the realm of compulsive gambling within the Criminal Justice System. In 2003 he was honored by the National Council on Problem Gambling for outstanding excellence in the field of Gambling Intervention as a result of the implementation of the Gambling Treatment Court. Judge Farrell’s creation of a Gambling Treatment protocol in the criminal justice system was highlighted on the front page of the New York Times on May 1, 2008 as an example of ground breaking efforts. Judge Farrell has also been highlighted in numerous other media publications around the United States. Prior to his extensive Judicial career, he spent many years practicing and teaching as a Trial Lawyer in the areas of Professional Malpractice and Professional Licensure, Product Liability and Environmental Law. Judge Farrell has been certified for many years as an Arbitrator and Mediator in both the commercial and civil arenas. Additionally, Judge Farrell was recently accorded a further distinction by being designated a member of “Who’s Who in American Law” in 2007.
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