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CIVIL AND MISDEMEANORS
Advantages & disadvantages of specialized courts.
By Chris Burke
June 20, 2017
- The Definition of Pre-Litigation
Broadly, a specialized court is any court that handles only a specific type of criminal or civil matter. These courts can take multiple forms, from Missouri’s truancy court for students skipping school to the US federal government’s bankruptcy courts. Specialized courts bring many advantages for both the courts and for individual participants, but they also have unique disadvantages.
Characteristics
While very diverse, specialized courts have some common characteristics. These courts generally exist to serve special or marginalized topics that general courts find difficult to adjudicate easily or fairly. Some courts, such as bankruptcy courts or the often-proposed terrorism court, may require specialized knowledge or rules to handle cases fairly. Other courts may have a “problem-solving” focus, such as drug, domestic violence, juvenile and veteran’s courts, which place emphasis on therapeutic resolutions. This makes them unsuited for the adversarial “defendant versus plaintiff” nature of general courts.
Benefits for Courts
The judicial system receives many benefits from specialized courts. Both lawyers and judges can focus solely on their legal specialties, making cases more efficient. Specialized courts relieve pressure on general courts by removing cases that may be especially time-consuming, such as bankruptcy cases. Specialized courts can also institute special rules unsuitable for general courts; for example, a proposed terrorism court could require that sensitive evidence be shown in secret.
Benefits for Participants
Participants on either side of an issue benefit from specialized courts. Specialized judges have a greater understanding of issues and are better able to offer fair rulings based on the facts. “Problem-solving” courts give convicted defendants more and better options for resolution. For example, a veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder who commits a crime may be more likely to receive specialized treatment if tried in a veteran’s court set up specifically to help people in his situation.
Disadvantages for Courts
Specialized courts take away money and resources from the general court system, which can place greater stress on the general court system and can be seen as “elitist” if specific cases receive more attention than others. Specialized courts also run the risk of encouraging special interest groups to take an undue interest in influencing court decisions, or becoming overly deferential to the opinions of specific judges or experts.
Disadvantages for Participants
Specialized courts run the risk of separating defendants into tiers, or even into “good” and “bad” defendants. For example, if a veteran with PTSD commits a crime in an area with a veteran’s court, that court could offer him special benefits that a non-veteran with PTSD would not be able to access, despite being largely in the same situation.
- "Court Review"; Does Effective Therapeutic Jurisprudence Require Specialized Courts (And Do Specialized Courts Imply Specialized Judges)?; David B. Rottman; Spring 2000
- "New York Times"; New Court for Terrorism; Harvey Rishikof; June 8, 2002
- Slate.com: A Separate Peace; Dahlia Lithwick; February 11, 2010
- American Bar Association Litigation News: Specialized Courts Continue to Take Hold: Amy Doehring; August 14, 2009
- Your Missouri Courts: Specialized Court Divisons
- "Bepress"; The Impact of Specialized Courts on the Federal Judicial System 1925-1981; Yu Wang; 2007
- Delaware State Courts: A Short History of the Delaware Court of Chancery
Chris Burke began writing professionally in 2007. In addition to writing for student-run literary journals in college, he has authored content for The George Washington University, as well as the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Burke holds a Bachelor of Arts in international affairs and is pursuing a law degree from Columbia University.
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SEARCH NYCourts.gov
Problem-Solving Courts
The New York State Unified Court System serves the needs of approximately 19,750,000 people, the fourth-largest state population in the nation. Our 1,200 state judges, 2,400 town and village judges and 15,500 non-judicial employees work in over 300 state courts and 1,300 town and village courts spread throughout 62 counties in 13 judicial districts and hear 3,500,000 filings.
To meet the challenges of such a large system, more than two decades ago, the New York State Unified Court System began to establish problem-solving courts. These courts help judges and court staff to better respond to the needs of litigants and the community. Problem-solving courts look to the underlying issues that bring people into the court system, and employ innovative approaches to address those issues. Through intensive judicial monitoring, coordination with outside services, treatment where appropriate, the removal of barriers between courts and increased communication with stakeholders, these courts are able to change the way our system manages cases and responds to individuals, families and communities.
Problem-solving courts take different forms depending on the problems they are designed to address. Drug and mental health courts focus on treatment and rehabilitation. Community courts combine treatment, community responsibility, accountability, and support to both litigants and victims. Sex offense courts employ judicial monitoring and the use of mandated programs and probation to ensure compliance and facilitate access to services. Human trafficking courts center around victims and many cases are resolved without criminal charges. The Adolescent Diversion parts address the unique needs of adolescents in the criminal justice system.
The Unified Court System is committed to the administration of justice in the problem-solving courts, while enhancing public safety.
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Contact Info
For further information on Problem-Solving Courts or if you would like to schedule a court visit, please contact the Division of Policy and Planning at [email protected]
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Executive Summary: National Institute of Justice’s Multisite Evaluation of Veterans Treatment Courts
Census of problem-solving courts (bureau of justice statistics).
The 2012 Census of Problem-Solving Courts (CPSC) involved the collection of data from all active problem-solving courts. In order to be considered a problem-solving court, it must have (1) operated within the judiciary, (2) operated under the direction of a judicial officer, (3) been active in the reference year, and (4) used therapeutic services to reduce recidivism. A variety of data elements were collected in...
Problem-Solving Courts: Fighting Crime by Treating the Offender
COMMENTS
Specialized judges have a greater understanding of issues and are better able to offer fair rulings based on the facts. "Problem-solving" courts give convicted defendants more and better options for resolution. For example, a veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder who commits a crime may be more likely to receive specialized ...
The Problem-Solving Court Model. Problem-solving courts differ from traditional courts in that they focus on one type of offense or type of person committing the crime. An interdisciplinary team, led by a judge (or parole authority), works collaboratively to achieve two goals: Case management to expedite case processing and reduce caseload and ...
Case study Problem-Solving Courts in the US Trend Report 2021 - Delivering Justice / Case Study: Problem-Solving Courts in the US Author: Isabella Banks, Justice Sector Advisor Introduction Problem-solving courts are specialised courts that aim to treat the problems that underlie and contribute to certain kinds of crime (Wright, no date). "Generally, a problem-solving court […]
September 26, 2019. By. Paul A. Haskins. abthai/Shutterstock Inc. (see reuse policy). Courts designed to stop crime by treating substance use disorders and other serious problems underlying criminal conduct are known as problem-solving courts (PSCs). Implicit in that designation is broad recognition among justice stakeholders that traditional ...
First, the respondents clearly supported problem-solving courts across all five special offender populations. When the three support categories are combined (i.e., strongly support, support, somewhat support), the percentage of overall support is more than 80% for drug, mentally ill, veteran, and homeless offenders.
Abstract. Problem-solving courts differ from traditional criminal courts because they are designed to treat the underlying problems that lead to criminal conduct. These courts originated in the late 1980s with a focus on drug offenders and have since expanded to other groups such as veterans. As an alternative way to deliver justice, problem ...
for Court Innovation, have attempted to define problem-solving justice in recent years.This is no simple task. Perhaps the biggest challenge has been identifying principles that are broad enough to encompass all problem-solving initiatives without being so broad that the description becomes meaningless.The diversity of problem-solving models is
and are more likely to keep victims safe.The evidence shows that problem-solving domestic violence courts are more likely to impose requirements to hold ofenders acc. ntable than traditional court processing.There is promising evidence that problem-solving domestic violence courts can reduce the frequency.
The book, Taking Problem-Solving courts to Scale: Diverse Applications of the Specialty Court Model, by Drs. Eileen M. Ahlin and Anne S. Douds is an edited compilation of chapters that examine rese...
This book chapter by the Center for Court Innovation's research director summarizes the research demonstrating that the problem-solving judicial role directly contributes to reduced criminal behavior among program participants. The chapter also discusses individualized justice (assessing and responding to the needs of each defendant) and predictability (using standardized tools and generating ...
The Florida State Court System proclaims May 2024 as a month of recognition of the contributions made by problem-solving courts in meeting the challenges of substance use and mental disorders and as a month of awareness regarding opioid and stimulant use disorder. You may view the Supreme Court of Florida Proclamation signed by Chief Justice ...
For further information on Problem-Solving Courts or if you would like to schedule a court visit, please contact the Division of Policy and Planning at [email protected]. Welcome The New York State Unified Court System serves the needs of approximately 19,750,000 people, the fourth-largest state population in the nation. Our 1,200 ...
Recently, "problem-solving" courts have been developed as an alternative to imprisonment. They are often called "specialty" courts because they process and divert into treatment programs offenders who are seen as different from the general criminal population, such as those with mental health or drug problems, those who are homeless or veterans, and those who engage in domestic ...
Problem-solving courts (also known as specialty courts) are specialized dockets within the criminal justice system that seek to address underlying mental health or SUD that contribute to the commission of certain criminal offenses in many cases, often providing treatment rather than punishment. The most common types of problem-solving courts ...
The 2012 Census of Problem-Solving Courts (CPSC) involved the collection of data from all active problem-solving courts. In order to be considered a problem-solving court, it must have (1) operated within the judiciary, (2) operated under the direction of a judicial officer, (3) been active in the reference year, and (4) used therapeutic services to reduce recidivism.
Problem-Solving Courts The Strategic Planning Process The Center's strategic planning process is flexible and can be adjusted to fit the needs of state court systems, state problem-solving court associations, or other organizations. The basic steps are outlined below. 1. Planning Committee The strategic planning process begins by
This article assesses the success of "therapeutic jurisprudence," which is placed in the setting of problem-solving courts. Some examples of these problem-solving courts are domestic violence courts, drug courts, and community courts. It reviews the changes of these specialty courts within the United States and in other countries, and ...
Problem-solving courts can be life changing for people with mental illness or SUDs who become involved in the criminal justice system. Veterans courts. and drug courts show similar outcomes for participants. Mental health courts have been associated with reduced recidivism and incarceration, and can even improve mental health outcomes.
Specialty courts, designed to tackle specific problem behaviour and associated issues, have been adopted by policy-makers and criminal justice practitioners as a means of tackling crime related to drug dependency and mental health, reducing the over-representation of Indigenous offenders and reducing the incidence of domestic violence. This paper examines the history and development of the ...
An overview of the three types of problem-solving courts currently in operation in New York State follows. Community Courts The Unified Court System's first foray into problem-solving jurisprudence was the Midtown Community Court, located on West 54th Street in the heart of Manhat-tan. Opened in October 1993, the Midtown Court was de-
Problem-Solving Justice: Courts as Agents of Social Change was first piloted at Fordham Law School in 2005 in a class co-taught by Valerie Raine, Center for Court Innovation, and the Hon. Susan Knipps, supervising judge of New York County Family Court. The class was taught again in the spring of 2006 with the help of the Hon. Patricia Henry.
2024 Florida Problem-Solving Court Conference
The Rise of Specialized Problem-Solving Courts. Over the past two decades, the "problem-solving court" movement has grown exponentially. The movement began with the creation of the Miami Drug Court in 1989. Since then, more than 2,100 drug courts have opened nationwide (Huddleston, Marlowe, and Casebolt 2008).