NCJ Number
134590
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1992) Pages: 5-26
Date Published
1992
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The analysis paradigm, characterized by an emphasis on legal doctrine, rational analysis of self-evident legal principles, and law reform, has been highly successful in facilitating major reform of mental health law, but its value for understanding and improving justice and mental health systems interactions now is largely exhausted.
Abstract
A "paradigm" shift to an approach that emphasizes the interrelated interactions, tasks, and process in the interactions of the justice and mental health systems might lead to several directions: an inquiry focused on such organizational components of justice and mental health interactions as court clinics; the development of a meaningful statistical portrait of the number and composition of cases that impact both the justice and mental health systems; a better understanding of the missions, goals, objectives, and administrative structures of the components in the justice and mental health systems interactions; increased emphasis on the work of trial rather than appeals courts; and the development of a new information architecture for the field of mental health law. Criticisms of the proposed paradigm shift are identified. 8 footnotes, 1 figure, 1 table, and 83 references (Author abstract modified)