Problem Solving Courts A Measure of Justice

by Miller, Joann; Johnson, Donald C.

• ISBN13: 9781442200807
• ISBN10: 1442200804
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-11-16
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

With overcrowded prisons and high reoffender rates, communities are increasingly concerned about not only punishing criminal offenders, but also rehabilitating them and addressing the social issues that contribute to crime in communities. Problem Solving Courts explores a relatively new approach to criminal justice-one that can have a powerful impact on how offenders connect with their communities. Problem solving courts, born out of the drug court movement in the 1980s, are run by judges who, with the assistance of law enforcement agents and social service providers, meet with participants on a weekly basis to assess progress. Programs include housing, drug abuse therapy, work training and employment, family therapy, and volunteer work. In this unique collaboration, scholar JoAnn Miller and Judge Donald C. Johnson address the compelling needs for alternatives to prisons, analyze problem solving courts in depth, and asses the impact that problem solving courts can have on ex-offenders and their communities. Book jacket.

Author Biography

JoAnn Miller is associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts and professor of sociology at Purdue University. She is President (2010) of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and has been the cocreator, with Donald C. Johnson, of problem solving courts. Donald C. Johnson has implemented and run three problem solving courts in Indiana. He was elected three times as a superior court judge in Indiana, following a fifteen-year legal practice. He was a special agent for the FBI and served as deputy prosecutor.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Setting the Stage
Measured Justice and Problem Solving Court Principles	p. 13
The Purposes, Promises, and Magic of Contemporary Criminal Law and Criminal Justice in the United States	p. 21
A Problem Solving Court Jurisprudence	p. 41
Timeless Problems, Innovative Solutions	p. 53
Courts, Prisons, and Communities
Responding to Reality: They All Come Home	p. 67
Blended Social Institutions	p. 81
The Community: What It Needs and What It Deserves	p. 97
Words, Words, Words: Distinctions and Differences	p. 119
Performances and Transformations
Transforming Master Status	p. 145
Backstage Action	p. 161
Front-Stage Performances	p. 175
Finale	p. 193
Biographical Sketches	p. 199
Reentry Court Participation Agreement	p. 207
Waiver Forms	p. 221
Reentry Court Participant's Handbook	p. 225
Notes	p. 243
References	p. 243
Index	p. 271
About the Authors	p. 277
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