Jeri Cohen, JD

Circuit Court Judge
11th Judicial Circuit

Judge Jeri Beth Cohen is a circuit judge in the Dependency and Criminal Drug Court Divisions in Miami-Dade County, Florida. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree at Boston University, her Master of Arts degree at Harvard University, and her Juris Doctorate at Georgetown Law. Judge Cohen is the presiding judge in the Criminal and Dependency Drug Courts. Judge Cohen has used her experience in the areas of substance abuse, mental health, early childhood development and trauma to create an innovative approach to the treatment of addiction.

Judge Cohen is a member of the Miami-Dade County Opioid Addiction Task Force and an executive committee member of the South Florida Behavioral Health Network, the entity responsible for funding Miami-Dade County behavioral health providers. She has been a tireless champion in Miami-Dade for the use of Medication Assisted Treatment as part of a comprehensive approach to recovery. Judge Cohen has trained hundreds of child welfare and drug court partners, including judges, on the benefits of incorporating MAT into treatment services.

Judge Cohen is recognized as an expert on issues relating to child welfare, substance abuse and mental health. She works on a national level with The Bureau of Justice Affairs, Children and Family Futures and the National Drug Court Institute to develop curricula and train drug courts across the country. Judge Cohen chairs the Florida Association of Drug Court Professionals and sits on the Board of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. She has aught at statewide and national conferences and published several articles on family drug courts. Judge Cohen has received several grants from, inter alia, NIDA, CSAT, SAMHSA, HHS and BJA. The majority of these grants have funded randomized studies in both the community and the court.