This article asses what is known and what remains to be understood about problem-solving courts. Specifically, the article asserts that drug courts serve a needy population, court mandated treatment programs have higher retention rates, those who participate longer have better outcomes, those in drug courts had lower rates of recidivism, drug use, and that graduated sanctions have statistically...

o Courts should adopt court performance measures to ensure that they can track cases, to increase accountability, and to inform decisions about the allocation of court resources; and o Incentives and requirements should be established for effective collaboration between courts and child welfare agencies on behalf of children in foster care; and o Children and parents should have a strong voice ...

Sex offenders with a psychotic illness present challenges in the determination of criminal responsibility, risk assessment, and psychiatric treatment. Novak et al. present data that raise concerns regarding how forensic psychiatrists could conclude sex offenders were not responsible for their offenses in the absence of clear evidence of psychotic symptoms at the time of assessment and/or offens...

A nimosity towards lawyers, perennial in our social history long before Watergate, parallels a contradictory and equally persistent belief in judges as problem-solvers for a variety of personal, economic, educational and political ills. An increasing number of litigants are bringing to the courts not only the class of disputes that has been the traditional fare of judicial decision-making, but ...

The assessment of decision-making capacity is an essential element of competency determinations. As experts in the assessment of human cognitive abilities, neuropsychologists may be the best adjudicators of competency. However, to maximize the contribution of neuropsychology to the courts in the determination of competency, clinicians must be aware of the professional controversies and ethical ...

The care and management of hospitalized insanity acquittees can be quite challenging. As patients progress in treatment, clinicians must invariably address whether the patient is ready to be returned to the community, balancing the liberty interests of the acquittee with the protection of society. The process by which this determination is made is far from simple and involves review of clinical...

Why do some international courts and judges extensively borrow from other international courts while others do not? Answers to this question have important implications for debates on transjudicial communication, the diffusion of international legal norms, and international judicial behavior. Judges may use external sources because they help improve decisions or because it fits their ideologica...

Interview with Prof. Nicholas Bagley on the Supreme Court’s decision in California v. Texas (12:46)Download In June, U.S. Court rejected what will probably be last major case seeking to uproot ACA. The most likely marks an end Republicans’ efforts achieve courts they have been unable Congress.

Minors are generally considered incompetent to provide legally binding decisions regarding their health care, and parents or guardians are empowered to make those decisions on their behalf. Parental authority is not absolute, however, and when a parent acts contrary to the best interests of a child, the state may intervene. The best interests standard is the threshold most frequently employed i...