Problem-solving courts provide judicially supervised treatment for behavioral health needs commonly found among criminal offenders, including substance abuse and mental health disorders, and they treat a variety of offender populations. These courts employ a team-based approach consisting of a judge, defense attorney, prosecutor, and treatment providers, representing a significant paradigm shift in how the justice system treats offenders with special needs. Despite the proliferation of problem-solving courts, there remains some uncertainty about how they function, how effective they are, and the most promising ways to implement problem-solving justice. Problem-Solving Courts and the Criminal Justice System provides a comprehensive foundation of knowledge related to problem-solving courts and the role they play in the United States criminal justice system. The book begins with an overview that explores precipitating factors in these courts' development, relevant political influence, and their history, purposes, benefits, and drawbacks, followed by a detailed discussion of specific types of problem solving courts, including drug courts, mental health courts, and veterans courts, among many others. Next a review of the legal and ethical considerations of alternative methods to standard prosecution is complemented by an examination of the methodological challenges faced by researchers when attempting to study the effectiveness of problem-solving courts. The book concludes with a discussion of future directions in terms of research, practice, and policy relating to these courts in the United States. Problem-Solving Courts and the Criminal Justice System is appropriate for professionals, researchers, and students in the fields of mental health, criminal justice, and law.

Problem-solving courts provide judicially supervised treatment for behavioral health needs commonly found among criminal offenders, including substance abuse and mental health disorders, and they treat a variety of offender populations. These courts employ a team-based approach consisting of a judge, defense attorney, prosecutor, and treatment providers, representing a significant paradigm shift in how the justice system treats offenders with special needs. Despite the proliferation of problem-solving courts, there remains some uncertainty about how they function, how effective they are, and the most promising ways to implement problem-solving justice. Problem-Solving Courts and the Criminal Justice System provides a comprehensive foundation of knowledge related to problem-solving courts and the role they play in the United States criminal justice system. The book begins with an overview that explores precipitating factors in these courts' development, relevant political influence, and their history, purposes, benefits, and drawbacks, followed by a detailed discussion of specific types of problem solving courts, including drug courts, mental health courts, and veterans courts, among many others. Next a review of the legal and ethical considerations of alternative methods to standard prosecution is complemented by an examination of the methodological challenges faced by researchers when attempting to study the effectiveness of problem-solving courts. The book concludes with a discussion of future directions in terms of research, practice, and policy relating to these courts in the United States. Problem-Solving Courts and the Criminal Justice System is appropriate for professionals, researchers, and students in the fields of mental health, criminal justice, and law.

The new trend in problem-solving courts—specialized courts utilized to address crimes not adequately addressed by the standard criminal justice system—is examined in this thorough and insight-filled book. At least since the late 1980s, with the development of the first drug court in Dade County, Florida, the justice system has undergone what some believe is a revolution—the movement toward problem-solving courts. Problem-Solving Courts: Justice for the Twenty-First Century? provides a concise, thorough, well-documented, and balanced foundation for anyone interested in understanding this phenomenon. Detailing the "promise and potential perils" of problem-solving courts, the authors represented here examine the development of the problem-solving court movement, the rationale for the courts, the approaches they take, and their anticipated benefits and potential pitfalls. Using case examples and looking at various types of problem-solving courts, the book offers "foundational" information about the specific types of problem-solving courts, their goals and philosophies, their organization and operation, their variation in structure and procedures, and the extensiveness of the court. It draws conclusions about the relative merits or disadvantages of such courts and considers prospects for the future.

In order to make the criminal court system more effective there has been a growing trend to have courts participate in what is essentially a rehabilitation strategy. Such courts are often referred to as “problem-solving” because they are working on root causes of criminal behavior as part of the dispensation of justice. This major shift in the role of the courts means that the court works closely with prosecutors, public defenders, probation officers, social workers, and other justice system partners to develop a strategy that pressures offenders to complete a treatment program which will ultimately, hopefully prevent recidivism. Research has shown that this kind of strategy has a two-fold benefit. It has been successful in helping offenders turn their lives around which leads to improved public safety and the ultimate saving of public funds. This book is the first to focus exclusively on problem solving courts, and as such it presents an overview of the rationale and scientific evidence for such courts as well as individual sections on the key areas in which these courts are active. Thus there is specific attention paid to domestic violence, juvenile criminality, mental health, and more. Throughout, research findings are incorporated into general discussions of these courts operate and ideally what they are trying to accomplish. There is also discussion of how such courts should evolve in the future and the directions that further research should take.

Presented in a new digital edition, and adding a Foreword by Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the state of New York, Good Courts is now available as an eBook to criminal justice workers, jurists, lawyers, political scientists, court officials, and others interested in the future of alternative justice and process in the United States. Public confidence in American criminal courts is at an all-time low. Victims, communities, and even offenders view courts as unable to respond adequately to complex social and legal problems including drugs, prostitution, domestic violence, and quality-of-life crime. Even many judges and attorneys think that the courts produce assembly-line justice. Increasingly embraced by even the most hard-on-crime jurists, problem-solving courts offer an effective alternative. As documented by Greg Berman and John Feinblatt—both of whom were instrumental in setting up New York’s Midtown Community Court and Red Hook Community Justice Center, two of the nation’s premier models for problem-solving justice—these alternative courts reengineer the way everyday crime is addressed by focusing on the underlying problems that bring people into the criminal justice system to begin with. The first book to describe this cutting-edge movement in detail, Good Courts features, in addition to the Midtown and Red Hook models, an in-depth look at Oregon’s Portland Community Court. And it reviews the growing body of evidence that the problem-solving approach to justice is indeed producing positive results around the country. Quality eBook features include linked Notes, active TOC, and proper formatting.

In the more than 30 years since the drug court model transformed the criminal justice landscape, problem-solving courts have expanded their reach beyond criminogenic needs. They now address demographic similarities (e.g., veterans courts, tribal wellness courts, community courts) and offense characteristics (e.g., prostitution courts, sex offender courts). The rapid expansion of problem-solving courts to meet many different individuals suggests this template is appropriate and adaptable to just about any categorical characteristic. This book calls on problem-solving court experts to offer a fresh perspective on the evolving discourse on these courts' proliferation. Contributors describe diverse applications of the problem-solving court model while critically appraising these niche courts' evidence. This book provides a comprehensive account to date of how problem-solving courts are continuing to revolutionize justice. This collective body of work strengthens our understanding of their placement in the throes of a call for meaningful criminal justice reform.Taking Problem-Solving Courts to Scale is presented in three sections to address specialty courts focused on criminogenic needs, individual characteristics, and offense characteristics. At the outset of each section, the editors describe the courts' purpose falling under these broad categories and highlight key elements from the chapters falling within.

This book presents findings from a process evaluation carried out at a problem-solving court located in England: Manchester Review Court. Unlike the widely documented successes of similar international models, there is no detail of Manchester Review Court in the accessible literature, not in any policy document, nor is there a court handbook or website outlining objectives and expected practice. In adopting the seminal ‘wine’ and ‘bottle’ analytical framework propounded by therapeutic jurisprudence scholars, and by carrying out a detailed comparative analysis comparing the court to successful international problem-solving courts, the original empirical data brings clarity to an overlooked area. A fidelity analysis is also offered for the forerunning English and Welsh drug courts, which were established during the early 2000s, but then shortly fell by the wayside without satisfactory explanation for why. Findings from the book shed new light on the causes of the English and Welsh drug court downfalls pending recent calls to roll out a fresh suite of problem-solving courts. In light of the international evidence base and national struggles in the field, the book proposes a renewed, UK-specific, fidelity matrix to forge the impetus for new practice in this area, whilst accounting for past failures and acknowledging current issues. Therefore, this book not only breaks new ground by advancing knowledge of a significantly uncharted area but provides important inroads for helping policymakers with their strategies in tackling recidivism, addiction, victimisation, and austerity, as widespread social and human issues currently facing both Manchester and the UK more broadly. Presenting significant advancements in theory, policy, and practice at both national and international scale, the book will be a valuable resource for academics and practitioners working in the fields of Therapeutic Justice, Criminal Law, Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Socio-Legal Studies.