NCJ Number
182843
Editor(s)
G. Larry Mays,
Peter R. Gregware
Date Published
2000
Length
573 pages
Annotation
This volume examines the role of court personnel, the role of courts in enhancing the social good, court processes, functions and problems, and alternatives for change.
Abstract
The book directs particular attention to program implementation and important reform issues: why some good ideas have gone nowhere, why some bad ideas are gaining momentum, and where to find viable reform ideas. The book contains a section on specialized courts, including tribal, juvenile, drug and mental health courts. The book includes 31 essays, presented in seven sections; each section includes related study questions: (1) Overview of Courts (including teaching courts); (2) Decision Making in the Shadows: Little-Understood Components and Processes in the Criminal Justice System (including de novo trials in the criminal courts); (3) Limiting or Trusting Juries? (including the impact of sequestration, videotaped trial transcripts for juror deliberations and the resilience of jury nullification); (4) Problems for the Judiciary (including racial diversity and gender bias); (5) Politics in the Decision-Making Process (including privatizing due process and bias and impartiality of judges and jurors); (6) Specialized Courts: Shopping the Boutique; and (7) The Future of Courts: Thinking Outside the Lines. Notes, figures, references, tables, index