Abstract
The first Gambling Treatment Diversion Court was established in Las Vegas, Nevada in fall of 2018 following more than 25 years of effort by passionately concerned non-profit Executives, therapists, lawyers and judges. This panel represents one leader from each of those areas, including Judge Cheryl Moss, the first judge to open the Gambling Treatment Diversion Court (GTDC), Dayvid Figler, the first attorney to successfully represent a gambling client and refer her to the GTDC, Carol O'Hare, Executive Director of the non-profit Nevada Council on Problem Gambler with 25+ years leadership and advocacy for problem gamblers, Sydney Smith, M.A., Clinical Director of RISE treatment center in Las Vegas and nationally- and state-certified gambling counselor, and Denise F. Quirk, M.A., Clinical Director of the Reno Problem Gambling Center and nationally- and Nevada-certified problem gambling counselor and instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno. The panel will share the development of gambling diversion treatment, legal challenges and victories, the process of the GTDC, case studies of individuals with Gambling Disorder who have endured and succeeded in the legal process, and discussion relevant to the impact of the gambling diversion process at all levels of evaluation, advocacy, treatment and support for gamblers and communities.
Author Bios
Judge Cheryl Moss was elected to the District Court, Family Division in November 2000. She graduated from the George Washington University, Washington D.C. with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, then attended the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. where she graduated in the top 25% of her class. Judge Moss was admitted to the Nevada State Bar in 1997. In 1999, while in solo private practice, she received the Shining Star Award from the Clark County Pro Bono Project for her representation of low-income clients. Judge Moss is a member of the Nevada District Judges Association, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Nevada State Bar, the Clark County Bar Association and also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Clark County Library. Judge Moss is also a member of a Civil Order Enforcement Task Committee working on procedures in helping parents enforce their custodial or visitation rights with the assistance of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as well as guiding parents to obtaining emergency court hearing dates before a Family Court Judge. Judge Moss was the first judge to initiate a pilot program on problem gambling assessments for parents in child custody cases. Since its inception in 2007, Judge Moss has volunteered her time to serve as a member of the Subcommittee on Legal Issues, created by the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling.
Carol O’Hare Contact:
Executive Director carol@nevadacouncil.org
Nevada Council on Problem Gambling 702-369-9740
Las Vegas, NV
Carol O’Hare became the Executive Director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling in April 1996 after working two years as a consultant, assisting in the development of public awareness & education programs to address problem gambling issues within the gaming industry and the community at large. Ms. O’Hare has authored and co-authored numerous articles, resource publications, and training workshops, and is recognized as an expert in public policy, prevention, education and peer recovery support. Ms. O’Hare is an accomplished public speaker at the state and national level, and is a respected leader in the problem gambling field, with over 27 years of personal recovery from her own gambling addiction. Ms. O’Hare has served on the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling since 2007 and is currently the Vice-Chair of the Committee and a member of its Legislative Subcommittee. In 2014 the National Council on Problem Gambling presented Ms. O’Hare with one of its highest honors - the Monsignor Joseph A. Dunne Lifetime Award for Advocacy.
Sydney Smith, LPC, LADC, CPGC-S, ICGC-II Contact:
Founder sydney@risehelp.com
RISE Center for Recovery (702) 476-9700
Henderson, NV
Ph.D. candidate, Sydney Smith received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychometrics and is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Certified Problem Gambling Counselor Supervisor and Internationally Certified Gambling Counselor. Devoting 15 years to the counseling field, she has spent the majority of her career working with co-occurring disorders as a substance abuse and gambling addiction therapist, practicing in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Immersed in cultures ranging from small-town Oklahoma to the West coast metropolitan areas of California and Nevada, Ms. Smith brings a depth of perspective into the field of psychotherapy. Her expertise resides in addiction treatment as well as the treatment of problem gambling and their families. Also, a Behavioral Researcher, working in collaboration with UCLA Psychiatry Department, Sydney Smith and her affiliates are conducting research focused on empirically based treatment of spouses and families of problem gamblers. Additional current research includes working with the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada on Problem Gambling education, prevention, and treatment among Native Americans in Nevada’s Tribal Communities. Sydney is also the founder of RISE Center for Recovery, a comprehensive addiction treatment center based in Henderson, NV.
Dayvid Figler, Esq. Contact:
Attorney dfigler@gmail.com
Figler Law Group 702-222-0007
Las Vegas, Nevada
Dayvid Figler was raised in Las Vegas. A son of a casino worker, he became the first in his family to attend college and graduated from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Figler passed the Nevada State Bar at age 23, represented local unions and practiced First Amendment law prior to being recruited for the inaugural Special Public Defender's Office. There, Figler exclusively represented indigent defendants accused of murder, including cases with capital consequence for 7 years. In 2003, Mayor Oscar Goodman appointed Figler to the Las Vegas municipal court bench for a one-year term. Thereafter, he served for 10 years as a Judge Pro Tempore while building a private criminal defense practice focused on murder, as well as white-collar and drug-related cases. In his spare time, Figler writes essays about Las Vegas which have appeared in many venues including NPRs All Things Considered. He's been widely quoted on matters of criminal justice from the LA Times to the New York Times and has been a frequent guest commentator on Court TV. Dayvid has been an outspoken advocate of Nevada’s problem gambling diversion program, and has provided pro-bono services to problem gambling defendants while volunteering numerous hours of his time to educate Nevada legal professionals about this important law. In 2017, Dayvid Figler was selected to receive the prestigious Shannon L. Bybee Award for Advocacy, presented by the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling.
Comments
A panel discussion would be nice.