Legal Cynicism,Antisocial Attitudes,and Recidivism: Implications for a Procedurally Just Community Corrections

The current approach to supervising offenders in the community has produced disappointing results in terms of reduced recidivism. In response to this, a number of scholars have turned their attention to the role that community corrections officers (CCOs) may play in ensuring successful community supervision. Early evaluations of CCO training have shown promising results, yet missing from this knowledge is a consideration for the legal cynicism that may be held by offenders. It may be unreasonable to expect CCOs to change the antisocial attitudes of offenders when those negative attitudes are directed toward them. The purpose of the current work, therefore, is to integrate ideas about legal cynicism into the knowledge about effective supervision to promote a more procedurally just community corrections. Our broader purpose is to encourage a more realistic understanding of the challenges of the officer-offender relationship in order to improve the efficacy of existing models of effective community supervision practice.     

Moving from Evidence‐Light to Evidence‐Based Practice: Randomized Control Trials in Family Law

In a resource‐constrained environment, such as the access to justice field, it is critical to develop better knowledge about effective and efficient service delivery. This article discusses the need for more rigorous evaluation and research in the field, both in order to better reach individuals with legal needs and to maximize court resources. Various evaluation methodologies will be explained, along with examples of current randomized control trial studies being conducted at the Harvard Access to Justice Lab.     

Wellness and illness: the aftermath of urban mass housing in Lagos,Nigeria

Mass housing policy and an attendant population increase play a vital role in the socio-economic profile of Lagos. The article, using data from mass housing projects, explains the effects of these projects on intra-urban dynamics and the implications in Lagos. The pace of urban growth is increasing, and there is an absence of supporting infrastructures. The areas where populations are decreasing happen to be where contemporary housing construction is concentrated. Therefore, programmes aimed at providing housing and improving quality of life should, as a priority, deal with factors affecting population growth and spatial distribution.     

Lobbying and the measurement of conventional welfare cost

I would like to thank Michael Ormiston, Janet Smith and Scott Smith for several helpful discussions.