Chapters: the origin of a mental health court approach; common features of the four mental health courts, & differences among them; issues raised by the emergence of a mental health court model; recent precursors to mental health courts; earlier prototypes: special court-centered judicial precursors to mental health courts; early mental health court approaches in four jurisdictions in their mental health courts; Broward County (Fort Lauderdale, FL); King County (WA); Anchorage (AK); San Bernardino (CA); & early mental health court initiatives: common themes & emerging issues.

In this student-friendly text, a team of respected scholars balances practical knowledge of how the mental healthcare system operates in conjunction with the criminal justice system, with an analytical framework that looks at how the quality of that collaboration is reflected in the issues, processes and outcomes of both institutions. Professors and students will benefit from an accessible new text that informs and explores: The role of mental healthcare law and procedure in the criminal justice system How mentally ill clients are processed through the criminal justice system Mental healthcare terms, resources, and treatment programs Contemporary issues in mental health and criminal justice, such as the treatment of mentally ill juveniles inside the criminal justice system, and lack of full access to mental healthcare for at-risk groups Discussion of systemic interface and entropy, two central themes to guide student analysis of issues and examples drawn from real life Mental Health and Criminal Justice is designed with a wealth of features for study and review, including: Learning Objectives Framing the Issues Prologues and Epilogues that frame issues and provide vivid examples Key Terms, highlighted in the text and defined in the Glossary Text boxes that expand on points of interest Summary and Chapter Review Questions at the end of each chapter

This textbook provides an overview of the overlap between the criminal justice system and mental health for students of criminology and criminal justice. It provides an accessible overview of basic signs and symptoms of major mental illnesses and size of scope of justice-involved individuals with mental illness. In the United States, the law enforcement and the criminal justice system is often the first public service to be in contact with individuals suffering from mental illness or in mental distress. Those with untreated mental illnesses are often at higher risk for committing criminal acts, and due to a lack of mental health facilities, resources, and pervasive misconceptions about this population, those with mental illness often end up in the corrections system. This timely work covers the roles of each part of the criminal justice system interacting with mentally ill individuals, from law enforcement and first responders, social services, public health services, sentencing and corrections, to release and re-entry. It also addresses the crucial need of mental healthcare for criminal justice professionals, who suffer from high rates of job stress, PTSD, and other mental health issues. With new chapters on stigma, mental illness during and after disaster and crisis, and updates and new supplementary materials throughout, this book will be of interest to students of criminology and criminal justice, sociology, psychology, and public health. It will also be of interest to policy-makers and practitioners already working in the field, interacting with and addressing the needs of mentally ill individuals.

A wide variety of problem-solving courts have been developed in the United States over the past two decades and are now being adopted in countries around the world. These innovative courts--including drug courts, community courts, domestic violence courts, and mental health courts--do not simply adjudicate offenders. Rather, they attempt to solve the problems underlying such criminal behaviors as petty theft, prostitution, and drug offenses. Legal Accents, Legal Borrowing is a study of the international problem-solving court movement and the first comparative analysis of the development of these courts in the United States and the other countries where the movement is most advanced: England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Australia. Looking at the various ways in which problem-solving courts have been taken up in these countries, James Nolan finds that while importers often see themselves as adapting the American courts to suit local conditions, they may actually be taking in more aspects of American law and culture than they realize or desire. In the countries that adopt them, problem-solving courts may in fact fundamentally challenge traditional ideas about justice. Based on ethnographic research in all six countries, the book examines these cases of legal borrowing for what they reveal about legal and cultural differences, the inextricable tie between law and culture, the processes of globalization, the unique but contested global role of the United States, and the changing face of law and justice around the world.