Problem-Solving Courts in China: Background,Development, and Current Status

ABSTRACT

As a judicial system, the Chinese problem-solving courts are more deeply rooted in traditional judicial approaches than in therapeutic jurisprudence that fueled the movement in the West. Nevertheless, they share many similarities with problem-solving courts developed elsewhere in the world. To provide a better understanding of the courts, the authors first introduce the cultural and legal tradition that served as background for the judicial innovations. They then review the social and economic conditions that provided the impetus for the judicial reform. Next, they examine the two most common forms of the problem-solving court—the juvenile court and the family court—and identify their key functions and procedures. Last, the authors discuss the significance of the legal reform, the challenges it confronts, and improvement it can achieve.     

Juvenile Court Practitioners’ Construction of and Response to Sex Trafficking of Justice System Involved Girls

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a growing domestic health and policy concern. Exploited girls may be at heightened risk for entering the juvenile justice system. The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of CSEC victims and resources available for system-involved girls. The data from this study included semistructured interviews, case discussions, and residential placement meeting observations with juvenile justice personnel. Findings revealed labeling issues related to (1) how court workers construct female victims of CSEC through exploitation myths, (2) the importance of trauma history and relational contexts, and (3) system-level barriers. Recommendations for practice are discussed.     

Downsizing Juvenile Institutions in Ohio: Five Innovations

Abstract

Over the past 15 years, Ohio’s juvenile justice system has undergone important reforms that have led to a significant decline in the number of youthful offenders committed to state correctional facilities. As such, the purpose of this paper is to describe five unique innovations carried out across the state that have led to the downsizing of juvenile confinement in Ohio. These innovations include (1) the creation of Community Corrections Facilities; (2) RECLAIM Ohio; (3) the Ohio Youth Assessment System; (4) Targeted RECLAIM; and (5) the Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice Initiative. Lessons learned from these efforts will be identified and discussed.     

Parenting Behavior and Juvenile Delinquency Among Low-Income Families

It is widely known that parenting behavior has an impact on the development of delinquent behavior among adolescents. However, there is paucity of studies focusing on parenting behavior and its relation to juvenile delinquency among low-income families from India. The authors examined a wide range of parenting behavior and its relationship to juvenile delinquency in low-income families among Indians. Data were collected from 27 juvenile delinquent boys who were residing temporarily in an observation home in Kolkata (West Bengal, India) and 100 matched control (with respect to their socioeconomic status) juvenile boys, 11–18 years old, also from the same city. The overall findings revealed that there were higher levels of permissive parenting in the families of delinquent adolescents. It may be because low-income families have many family members that initiated the adolescents to take up some jobs to increase the family income, and this in turn affected their parents’ parenting behavior.     

Taking Stock of Drug Courts: Do They Work?

ABSTRACT

Although researchers, policymakers, and practitioners alike have long known about the established link between substance abuse and criminal behavior, criminal justice agencies in the United States are still tasked with managing an influx of individuals who display symptoms of abuse and dependence. By the late 1980s, the drug court model emerged as an innovative response to this problem, and this reform has since proliferated to such an extent that it is the most common type of problem-solving court in America. Still, there remains much variation in how drug courts are implemented across jurisdictions, which can have strong implications for the outcomes among the courts’ participants. In this review, we summarize the key research on drug court implementation, followed by an assessment of whether they can be said to “work” in terms of reducing criminal behavior and relapse among adults. We conclude that the model remains an evidence-based practice and suggest some directions for future work, including increased emphasis on theory and causal dynamics and key measurement issues.     

From Victimization to Criminalization: General Strain Theory and the Relationship Between Poly-victimization and Delinquency

Although it is well established that victimization and delinquency are related, it is not clear how this relationship works, and victims and offenders are still often studied and treated as two distinct groups. General strain theory views victimization as a form of injustice, which can give rise to anger and eventually lead to delinquency. The authors examine victimization, in particular polyvictimization, as a criminogenic factor. Based on a sample of 1,400 youths 12–17 years old in Quebec (Canada), they examine polyvictimization in relation to delinquency as well as negative emotions that can result from victimization namely anger, depression, and posttraumatic stress. The findings show support for general strain theory and highlight the importance of anger for the relationship between victimization and juvenile delinquency.     

Looking Back to the Future: Threats to the Success of Restorative Justice in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed an entrenchment of restorative justice principles and practices in the youth and adult criminal justice systems of the United Kingdom. This research presents a comparative analysis of the findings of two empirical studies—one of a police restorative cautioning scheme conducted 15 years ago, and the second a contemporary study of youth offender panels. In this research, we argue that restorative justice practices in the United Kingdom are repeating history, rather than learning from it. Specifically, we argue that if restorative justice programs continue to proliferate with the same shortcomings—most notably, inadequate victim involvement, failure to provide a genuine role for the community, and targeting only relatively low-level crime—the future for restorative justice in the United Kingdom is likely to be bleak.     

Māori,Family Group Conferencing and the Mystifications of Restorative Justice

Abstract

The Family Group Conferencing (FGC) forum is often presented by policy entrepreneurs and advocates as indicative of the ability of restorative justice (RJ) to accommodate the cultural and justice needs of diverse populations. In this article, we present recent empirical research from one of the authors on Māori experiences of the forum. Drawing from this research, as well as other secondary sources, we demonstrate that far from being an exemplar of culturally appropriate justice practice, the forum is experienced by some Māori participants as one that encloses Indigenous culture and Indigenous participants within a Eurocentric, formulaic, and standardized process. The final section of our article reveals changes to the development of restorative policies and the practice in the Aotearoa New Zealand context that Māori participants believe are necessary to make the movement, and interventions such as the FGC, an empowering experience for Māori.     

Refining and Resolving the Blur of Gault for Juvenile Capital Offenders in Texas: A World without the Juvenile Death Penalty

Texas's approach to juvenile capital offenders has been profoundly lacking any balance of the interests of accountability and rehabilitation. Texas has employed adult transfer for juvenile capital offenders with potential life imprisonment and possible parole in 40 years and determinate sentencing to adjudicate capital offenders in juvenile court, yielding a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Legislative initiatives in the 1990s to curtail parole have led to only 22 percent of violent offenders receiving early release while serving an average of 61 percent of their sentence. Aggravated offenders, including youth capital offenders, serve at least 80 percent of their total incarceration time. Notably the Texas framework does not effectively allow for offenders whose acts were the product of either an undeveloped or disabled mental capability to be punished appropriately and distinctly from those who possess psychotic or antisocial tendencies—or adult offenders. This deficiency is worsened as a result of the recently passed legislation SB.60, which establishes that juvenile capital offenders must receive the sentence of life without the possibility of parole upon conviction. Texas can create a more precise approach with three modifications: (1) centralize all youth capital adjudications to a criminal court, (2) effectuate separate imprisonment and enhanced educational programs for the first ten years of incarceration, (3) implement a “soft-ten” sentence where after the initial ten years of imprisonment the presumption for release favors the offender unless the state establishes that additional time is needed; this determination is primarily based on a complete psychological assessment of the offender.     

Making Land Rights Accessible: Social Movements and Political-Legal Innovation in the Rural Philippines

In recent years, rule of law and legal reform has grown to be a major concern of national governments, international financial institutions, development agencies and donor organisations. Part of this concern has focused on expanding access to justice for the poor. However, little effort has gone into understanding the role of justice sector institutions in shaping the opportunities and limits of redistributive justice. Little attention has been paid to the actual workings of obstacles entrenched within the justice sector to land reform, for example. Instead, pro-market scholars cite difficult legal problems as a reason to turn away from state-led land reform and toward market-oriented land policies. Yet as this paper shows, a closer look at the details of dynamics around land reform in the Philippines suggests that political-legal problems associated with implementation of the agrarian reform law can be overcome under certain conditions. It is argued that for rural poor claimants it is important to have access to a support structure for political-legal mobilisation, particularly an alternative ‘rights-advocacy’ outreach network, and also to adopt an integrated political-legal strategy. An integrated political-legal strategy is one that is capable of activating state agrarian reform law, exploiting independent state actors' pro-reform initiatives, and resisting the legal and extra-legal manoeuvres of anti-reform elites. However, such a strategy appears to have limits as well.     

The Extent,Nature, and Consequences of School Victimization: A Review of Surveys and Recent Research

ABSTRACT

The authors present a comprehensive overview of the current literature on the extent, correlates, and consequences of school-based incidents of victimization in the United States. The primary sources of data on crime and victimization in schools, including periodic, nationally representative surveys, are reviewed. These data are used to describe the scope and types of victimization most frequently encountered by students while in school, as well as historic shifts in trends. The authors also summarize the main correlates of school victimization both at the individual and school levels; describe the health, psychological, behavioral, and peer-network consequences of school victimization; and discuss the factors that can mitigate its consequences for youths. The discussion concludes by outlining future directions for this important line of research.     

Do You Wish to Prosecute the Person Who Assaulted You?: Untested Sexual Assault Kits and Victim Notification of Rape Survivors Assaulted as Adolescents

In jurisdictions across the country, sexual assault kits (SAKs) have not been consistently submitted for testing and many cities are now submitting large quantities of SAKs for forensic DNA testing. As a result, some survivors will be asked to re-engage with the criminal justice system, a process that may raise complex issues for victims who were adolescents at the time of their assaults. The authors examine the experiences of 15 adolescent victims whose SAKs were not tested, and their decision-making pathways regarding reengagement with the criminal justice system years after the initial investigation. Findings reveal that characteristics of the initial assault, victim-blaming experiences, and the social support appear to be related to the decision to re-engage with law enforcement years after the initial assault. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Myths and Realities of Prison Violence: A Review of the Evidence

In order to distinguish prison myth from reality, the authors examine both official and unofficial estimates of the violence and disorder in prison, as well the dual issues of whether drug abuse and gang activity in prison can be directly linked to the level of violence and disorder in correctional institutions. Based on this review, current responses to prison violence and disorder are examined; the authors argue that the key to reducing the current level of prison violence and disorder is to determine the appropriate tipping point between formal and informal social control mechanisms. The authors conclude by highlighting three distinct strategies for reducing violent incidents in prisons: (1) demand transparency, (2) require evidence-based practice, and (3) implement innovative measures of prison performance and quality.     

Anxiously Awaiting the Future of Restorative Justice in the United States

Abstract

The problems of mass incarceration and other criminal justice system failures in the United States—such as racial disparities, wrongful convictions, and high recidivism rates—have reached a tipping point. For the first time in decades, coalitions of politicians on the left and right are seeking criminal justice reform. What is the place of restorative justice in these efforts? What is the depth and breadth of restorative justice implementation? How familiar is the American public with restorative justice? How successful is the restorative justice movement? In this article, we seek answers to these questions as we try to assess the future of restorative justice in the United States.     

How Many Offenses are Really Committed per Juvenile Court Offender?

This article compares juvenile court petitions and self-reported offending between ages 13 and 17 for 506 boys followed up in the Pittsburgh Youth Study. There were 2.4 self-reported offenders for every petitioned offender, and 80 self-reported offenses for every petitioned offense. The prevalence of self-reported offenders stayed constant with age, but the prevalence of petitioned offenders increased with age. Conversely, the individual offending frequency stayed constant with age according to court petitions but increased with age according to self-reports. Therefore, prevalence and frequency did not vary similarly with age, and did not vary similarly in self-reports and court records. With increasing age, more and more of the self-reported offenders were formally petitioned, but they were formally petitioned for fewer and fewer of their offenses. The probability of an offender being petitioned to court increased with the number of offenses that he committed, but the probability of each offense leading to a court petition decreased with the number of offenses committed. There was little overlap between self-reported and official chronic offenders. It is concluded that researchers should always measure both self-reports and official records in studying offending, and that the juvenile court should seek to intervene earlier in delinquency careers.     

The Spiritual Components of Restorative Justice

The concept of spirituality in restorative justice practice is recognized as important but is often fuzzy and vaguely understood. This study did a content analysis of restorative justice texts and found nine distinct components of spirituality: transformation, connectedness/belonging, common human bond, repentance, forgiveness, making right a wrong, balance/harmony, rituals, and unexplained spiritual phenomenon. The conceptual clarification of the relationship between spirituality and restorative justice gives mediators/facilitators of restorative justice dialogue more tools to deepen their interactions with victims, offenders, and community members. Furthermore, delineation of these nine components offers researchers a framework for the development of instruments or tools that can be used to assess participants' experiences in restorative justice dialogues.     

Shifts in Governance in a Polycentric Urban Region: The Case of the Dutch Randstad

The Dutch Randstad is governed by a complex, polycentric institutional structure. In the past, many attempts to streamline the formal institutional structure have failed. However, within the basically unchanged formal structure important informal-institutional changes have been realized. They present shifts in governance rather than reorganizations of government. They present a flexible response to the pressures of glocalization, in the sense that they reflect both patterns of administrative down-scaling (localization at the level of specific issues and neighborhoods) and administrative up-scaling (regionalization at the level of the interurban conurbation). The flexible response is developing in practice, without a master plan or a master planner, and in that sense more in line with the underlying polycentric logic of the Dutch Randstad than previous attempts at finding the ultimate institutional fix.     

Conceptualising technical change in the third world in the 1980s: An interpretive survey

Abstract

The third wave of democratisation has been accompanied by the spread of new institutions that allow citizens to directly participate in shaping policy outcomes. Leading international organisations, such as the World Bank and UN Habitat, have disseminated ‘best practice’ programmes identified with ‘good government’ policy reform efforts. One of the best known programmes, participatory budgeting (PB), was first adopted by an entrepreneurial government in 1989 as a means to promote social justice, accountability, and transparency. Yet, when these programmes are copied by policy advocates and pro forma adopters, the political pay-offs for government officials are smaller, which leads them to provide weaker support for the adopted policy. This article demonstrates that policy entrepreneurs are more likely to provide greater resources and support to innovative policies than their policy advocates and pro forma adopter counterparts due to the types of political payoffs available to them. The article concludes by considering when it might be most appropriate for international funding agencies and nongovernmental organisations to promote best practice policies.     

War,reconstruction and dependence in Mozambique

It is often asserted that pressures for North African migration to Europe would be reduced if the European Union encouraged economic development on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Such arguments prompt questions about the efficacy of past and present endeavours by Europe to support economic development in North Africa. This article argues that the European Union's efforts have ironically encouraged a form of economic development in its southern neighbours that abets, rather than discourages, migration. Deeper economic reform is necessary by the European Union itself-within the economic space that Europe dominates-if genuine progress is to be made on North African migration pressures.     

Counter-revolution by Ideology? Law and development's vision(s) for post-revolutionary Egypt

Law and development, as both movement and practice, has led a tumultuous life: a hurried zenith cut short by a fatal critique followed by an opportunistic resurrection. The name alone is sufficient to trigger a range of reactions, extending from the complimentary to the condemnatory. In this article I track law and development's evolution via an examination of its role in the remodelling of Egyptian society in the post-Nasser era. While the 2011 revolution has encouraged institutions such as usaid to hasten their legal reform efforts, I argue that these are more akin to counter-revolution by ideology than genuine revolution by law. Nevertheless, rather than relegate the movement to the annals of imperial intrigue, I conclude by proposing the use of legal pluralism to revive, and possibly ignite, law and development's emancipatory potential.