Richard J. Bonnie is the Harrison Foundation Professor of Law and Medicine, Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science, and Director of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

. He teaches and writes about criminal law, bioethics, and public policies relating to mental health, substance abuse, aging and public health.

Education

Bonnie received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1966. He received his

L.L.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

in 1969.

Career

Bonnie has been actively involved in public service throughout his career. Among many other positions, he has been associate director of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse (1971–73); secretary of the first National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (1975–80); chair of Virginia's State Human Rights Committee responsible for protecting rights of persons with mental disabilities (1979–85), chief advisor for the ABA Criminal Justice Mental Health Standards Project (1981–88) and Chair of the Commission on Mental Health Law Reform established by the Chief Justice of Virginia (2006–11). Bonnie has served as an advisor to the American Psychiatric Association Council on Psychiatry and Law since 1979, received the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 39,200 members who are in ...

's Isaac Ray Award in 1998 for contributions to the field of forensic psychiatry, and was awarded a special presidential commendation in 2003 for his contributions to American psychiatry. He has also served on three

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

research networks — on Mental Health and the Law (1988–96), Mandated Community Treatment (2000-2010) and Law and Neuroscience (since 2008). In 1991, Bonnie was elected to the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

. He has chaired numerous National Academy studies on subjects ranging from elder mistreatment to underage drinking, including the landmark report
Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation (2007).
Most recently, he chaired major studies on juvenile justice reform (2013) and the health and well-being of young adults (2014).

Research

Bonnie has authored many papers and books on the subjects of criminal law, bioethics and public policies relating to mental health, substance abuse, aging and public health.

Awards and honors

In 2007, Bonnie received the

's highest honor, the Thomas Jefferson Award. He received the Yarmolinsky Medal in 2002 for his contributions to the

National Academies A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ins ...

. Bonnie was elected to the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnie, Richard Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Virginia School of Law alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Virginia School of Law faculty Mental health law American psychiatrists American drug policy reform activists Members of the National Academy of Medicine