Breaking with tradition: Introducing problem solving in conventional courts

摘要

Although their influence in the USA is growing, the country's more than 2500 problem-solving courts - such as drug courts, community courts, and domestic violence courts -still impact only a portion of the millions of cases that pass through US state court systems each year. As a result, some advocates of problem solving have begun to explore other ways - apart from establishing more problem-solving courts - to apply the lessons learned since the first models emerged in the 1980s. This paper, which is geared toward justice practitioners, describes how this might work. The paper discusses why problem solving is considered by many to be desirable, which practices and principles appear to be easiest to transfer to conventional courtrooms, the attitudes of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and court administrators toward problem solving, and examples of practitioners who have successfully integrated problem solving into their work. The paper also proposes eight strategies for promoting problem-solving practices in conventional courtrooms, and suggests that change can be achieved gradually - in some instances, by making only small adjustments to current practice.