NCJ Number
187751
Journal
Judicature Volume: 84 Issue: 4 Dated: January-February 2001 Pages: 206-214
Editor(s)
John Feinblatt,
Derek Denckla
Date Published
January 2001
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This is an edited transcript of a discussion among a judge, attorneys, a court administrator, and academics on the topic of problem solving courts, a discussion that focused on the role of advocates.
Abstract
Problem solving courts encourage prosecutors and defenders to think in new ways about the problems that are fueling their caseloads. There are several hundred problem solving courts in operation around the country, with the prospect of hundreds more beginning operation in the years ahead. This wave of experimentation and innovation raises important questions for prosecutors and defenders, questions that are among those discussed in this roundtable conversation: (1) In what ways do problem solving courts depart from the standard adversarial system? (2) What impact, if any, does the rapidly changing landscape have on defenders' ethical obligations? (3) Do problem solving courts shift the balance of power in the courtroom? (4) Do the new procedures being tested in problem solving courts impinge upon due process protections? and (5) Is there a need for new standards of effective lawyering at problem solving courts?