About me
Richard Schwermer has been involved in all aspects of court administration for over 35 years. First as a state level trial court administrator, then as a legislative liaison and Assistant State Court Administrator, he retired as the Utah State Court Administrator in 2019.
Since that time, he has served as a court consultant for the National Center for State Courts, supporting the National Judicial Task Force to Examine the State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness and other behavioral health related projects. He was the primary author of many of the Task Force resources, including the seminal white paper examining competency to stand trial issues and detailing solutions to this national crisis. He has also provided direct technical assistance to well over a dozen states, operationalizing the recommendations of the Task Force and of other leading organizations and innovators working to decriminalize mental illness and other behavioral health disorders.
Mr. Schwermer is committed to translating research into effective evidence-based practices in a variety of contexts, including court case management, behavioral health issues in the courts, pre-trial reform, and treatment courts. He created and implemented a best practices certification program for all problem-solving court types based on the NADCP Best Practice Standards and served as a member of the team that developed and authored those national standards. He also co-chaired the national State Drug Court Coordinators association for over 10 years.
He earned a BA from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and a Juris Doctorate from the SJ Quinney School of Law at the University of Utah.
