Examining Access to Adequate Healthcare within the Northern Mariana Islands’ Justice System

On July 19, 2023, the CNMI Advisory Committee (Committee) to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission) adopted a proposal to study the access to adequate health care for incarcerated individuals within the Northern Mariana Islands’ justice system. The focus of the Committee’s inquiry was to examine whether there is a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution in the administration of justice, as it specifically relates to the right to adequate health care for incarcerated individuals within Northern Mariana Islands’ criminal justice system. The Committee sought to consider whether the conditions of the Northern Mariana Islands’ prison facility affected incarcerated individuals’ access to adequate health care, whether individuals involved in the broader criminal justice system (i.e., pretrial detainees, specialty court participants, etc.) are able to access adequate health care, including mental health care, and whether pretrial detainees are protected from unnecessary involuntary medication.