CRM/LAW C100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Mental Health Court, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Substance Abuse
16 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
C100: Lecture 11
10 May 2018
I. MH Courts Part of Rise of Specialty Courts in 1990s
A. Disillusionment with traditional courts (mainly drug courts)
1. Need to problem solve
2. Use principles more in line with rehabilitation
B. A push for how we treat drug offenders, it is not a criminal problem but a public
health one
C. Specialty courts have proliferated
1. Substance abuse (drug abuse)
2. Mental health
3. Domestic violence
4. Prostitution
5. Elderly
6. Veterans
7. Homeless
8. Reentry courts
9. Juveniles
II. Mental Health Courts: A Different Approach
A. Traditional courts focus on legal issues (restoration of competency and criminal
responsibility)
B. Judge has a more central role - act as an arbiter in the traditional process but more
as a coach in the mental health courts
C. Focus on therapeutic jurisprudence: you want to use the justice to do something
good, punishment vs rehab (more on rehab)
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