The late Judge Stephen Goss was fondly remembered this week in the courthouse where he served as a superior court judge and began the region’s first mental health court. Nominations also opened this week for a national award in his honor.
The Dougherty Bar Association unveiled a portrait of the Judge Goss in his former courtroom at the Dougherty Judicial Building in Albany on March 1, 2023. Before joining the Court of Appeals, Judge Goss became nationally known for pioneering the Dougherty County Mental Health and Substance Abuse Court, one of the first four pilot programs in the nation, and traveled the country teaching other judges about mental health courts. Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Ken Hodges recalls how Judge Goss didn’t think people were mean-spirited, but that sometimes people with mental illnesses get caught up in criminal activies. “Steve worked to try to set them on the right course,” Judge Hodges said.
Judge Goss’ portrait now hangs outside his former courtroom in the Dougherty County Courthouse.
WALB News 10 Footage: The late Judge Goss honored with a courthouse portrait
Nominations also opened this week for the 3rd Annual Stephen S. Goss Memorial Awards. In 2021, the Judges’ and Psychiatrists’ Leadership Initiative (JPLI) established two awards in honor of Judge Goss, presented during the annual JPLI Leadership Summit to one judge and one psychiatrist who have “demonstrated extraordinary leadership in improving the lives of people with behavioral health needs in the criminal justice system.” Judge Goss was nationally known for pioneering the Dougherty County Mental Health and Substance Abuse Court before serving on the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Nominations must be submitted by March 17, 2023, and the nomination form is available at www.csgjusticecenter.org.