Problem-Solving Courts: Justice for the Twenty-First Century?

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.

Paul Higgins is professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.

Mitchell B. Mackinem is assistant professor of sociology at Claflin University, Orangeburg, SC.