Monday, October 6, 2008

Problem Solving Courts


San Francisco's new Community Justice Center, and its existing Drug Court, follow a general model of problem-solving courts. The National Center for State Courts produces this toolkit for States seeking to implement this model; the nice thing about the toolkit is that it contains not only success stories, but also different perspectives on the enterprise from within the system.

Those interested in a broader theoretical introduction to problem solving courts and to therapeutic justice in general will enjoy Candace McCoy's The Politics of Problem-Solving: An Overview of the Origins and Development of Therapeutic Courts, 40 American Criminal Law Review (2003). Laurie O. Robinson's comment on the paper (published on the same volume) is equally interesting, and provides a more optimistic practitioner's perspective.

Are problem-solving courts a good answer to the correctional crisis? What do you think?

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