U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Spector knows the impact drugs can have on young people and families, not just from his work in the courtroom, but having spoken to more than 50,000 students at 100-plus schools across the state.

Spector became a magistrate judge in May 2018, but in the two years prior, he traveled from town to town as an assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Haven, helping raise awareness about what prescription drugs can do to people. His visits included meetings with family members of people who have lost their lives to substance abuse.