Drug courts offer offenders an intensive court-based treatment
program as an alternative to the normal adjudication process. Begun
in 1989, they have since spread dramatically throughout the United
States. In this interdisciplinary examination of the expanding
movement, a distinguished panel of legal practitioners and
academics offers theoretical assessments and on-site empirical
analyses of the workings of various courts in the United States,
along with detailed comparisons and contrasts with related
developments in Britain. Practitioners, politicians, and academics
alike acknowledge the profound impact drug courts have had on the
American criminal justice system. From a range of disciplinary
perspectives, contributors to this volume seek to make sense of
this important judicial innovation. While addressing a range of
questions, Drug Courts also aims to achieve a careful balance
between focused empirical studies and broader theoretical analyses
of the same phenomenon. The volume maintains an analytical
concentration on drug courts and on the important practical,
philosophical, and jurisprudential consequences of this unique form
of therapeutic jurisprudence.
Drug courts depart from the practices and procedures of typical
criminal courts. Prosecutors and defense counsel play much-reduced
roles. Often lawyers are not even present during regular drug court
sessions. Instead, the main courtroom drama is between the judge
and client, both of whom speak openly and freely in the drug court
setting. Often accompanying the client is a treatment provider who
advises the judge and reviews the client's progress in treatment.
Court sessions are characterized by expressive and sometimes
tearful testimonies about the recovery process, and are often
punctuated with applause from those in attendance. Taken together,
the chapters provide a variety of perspectives on drug courts, and
extend our knowledge of the birth and evolution of a new movement.
Drug Courts is an essential reference for courses in criminology,
the sociology of drugs and deviance, and the philosophy of law and
punishment.
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