Jan. 13, 2026
California's hidden crisis: Mental Illness, addiction and the justice system
California's jails are filled with people struggling with mental illness and addiction. At a recent Hoover Institution symposium, judges, law enforcement and policymakers discussed practical solutions to reform the system and help the state's most vulnerable residents.
Hall of Justice & Records
Michael K. Wendler
Judge
Veterans Court, Military Diversion/Collaborative Courts Supervising Judge
Loyola Law School
Michael K. Wendler is a Superior Court judge in San Mateo County, where he presides over the Veterans Treatment Court. He is also a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, currently serving as the deputy commanding general of the 4th Marine Logistics Group, based in New Orleans, and is a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition, he is a veteran fellow at the Hoover Institution.
In May 2025, as part of the Hoover Institution's Veteran Fellowship Program, we gathered at Stanford University to confront a quiet crisis: how to truly fix the way California's criminal justice system handles mental health and substance abuse. This crisis is filling our jails, draining public resources and affecting the very people our systems ...
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