Part I of this book describes the newly emerging problem-solving courts (such as drug treatment courts, domestic violence courts, mental health courts, etc.) and other related approaches to problem-solving judging and judging with an explicit ethic of care. Authors Winick and Wexler show how judges can use therapeutic jurisprudence not only in specialized problem-solving courts, but in general civil and criminal judicial settings as well. In Part II, the book covers emerging "principles" of therapeutic jurisprudence that seem to be at work in successful judicial approaches: how courts can encourage offender reform, how they can help offenders develop problem-solving and coping skills, how they can encourage offender compliance with release conditions, how they can serve as effective risk managers, and much more. "Rarely does the academic work of law scholars have such a clear-cut impact in shaping the research agendas of a broad range of legal academics. Rarer still are the times when such legal scholarship positively impacts the working lives of judges and practicing lawyers. As these essays make abundantly clear, therapeutic jurisprudence has come of age as a legal discipline in its own right, ready to be further tested carefully and strategically within our judicial system... The authors assembled in this worthy volume believe strongly in the law's potential to serve as a 'healing agent' and seek to cast judges and lawyers in the roles of peacemakers and creative problem-solvers. Their vision deserves our serious consideration." -- The Journal of Legal Medicine "Winick and Wexler have gathered an impressive collection that both introduces the topic to newcomers and provides additional depth for those already generally aware of the concepts." -- Steve Leben in The Justice System Journal

The number of people incarcerated in the U.S. now exceeds 2.3 million, due in part to the increasing criminalization of drug use: over 25% of people incarcerated in jails and prisons are there for drug offenses. Judging Addicts examines this increased criminalization of drugs and the medicalization of addiction in the U.S. by focusing on drug courts, where defendants are sent to drug treatment instead of prison. Rebecca Tiger explores how advocates of these courts make their case for what they call “enlightened coercion,” detailing how they use medical theories of addiction to justify increased criminal justice oversight of defendants who, through this process, are defined as both “sick” and “bad.” Tiger shows how these courts fuse punitive and therapeutic approaches to drug use in the name of a “progressive” and “enlightened” approach to addiction. She critiques the medicalization of drug users, showing how the disease designation can complement, rather than contradict, punitive approaches, demonstrating that these courts are neither unprecedented nor unique, and that they contain great potential to expand punitive control over drug users. Tiger argues that the medicalization of addiction has done little to stem the punishment of drug users because of a key conceptual overlap in the medical and punitive approaches—that habitual drug use is a problem that needs to be fixed through sobriety. Judging Addicts presses policymakers to implement humane responses to persistent substance use that remove its control entirely from the criminal justice system and ultimately explores the nature of crime and punishment in the U.S. today.

A sensitive policy analysis of law should seek to measure and weigh all of the costs and benefits of legal rules. This book suggests ways in which mental health law can be reshaped -- not only to protect the legal rights of patients, but also to improve their mental health. "[A] lesson on where and how to focus the therapeutic jurisprudence lens so that the concept generates original and fruitful ideas." -- Thomas Grisso, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Department of Psychiatry "[The chapters] demonstrate that therapeutic jurisprudence provides a remarkable number of new insights into mental disability law... Litigators, scholars, policy makers, and mental disability professionals all owe Professor Winick a tremendous debt for the thoughtful, original, and provocative work that he has done." -- Michael L. Perlin, New York Law School "For novices in the field, it is an exciting view of a difficult corner of the law. For those who have spent their careers in the area, this work is both eye-opening and rejuvenating." -- Christopher Slobogin, University of Florida College of Law

Law in a Therapeutic Key is an anthology of works written by authors from a variety of backgrounds. This book illustrates some of the best and most provocative new therapeutic jurisprudence work in fields ranging from mental health law to correctional law, criminal law, family and juvenile law, evidence law, labor arbitration law, and many more. "[A] rich compendium of the best of what David Wexler and Bruce Winick have wrought... a mature and reflective work, and the most comprehenisve treatment of the therapeutic paradigm to date." -- John Monahan, University of Virginia "The crucial insight embedded in these essays is that all law, ranging from contracts to criminal law, can promote or retard the psychological well-being of persons who become involved with the legal system. Unless we acknowledge these therapeutic considerations in the law-making process, we risk fostering individual--and therefore societal--dysfunction." -- Paul Appelbaum, University of Massachusetts Medical Center

The ABA Journal serves the legal profession. Qualified recipients are lawyers and judges, law students, law librarians and associate members of the American Bar Association.

In recent years, the interdisciplinary perspective of therapeutic jurisprudence -- which focuses on the law's impact on emotional life and psychological well-being -- has increasingly moved from the academic world into the world of judging and law practice. The psychological sensitivity and insights provided by the 'lens' of therapeutic jurisprudence have mixed with the pragmatic procedures of related perspectives -- such as preventive law -- to allow interested lawyers to truly 'practice' therapeutic jurisprudence. Stolle, Wexler, and Winick designed this volume -- covering civil and criminal contexts and courtroom and law office settings -- for practicing lawyers as well as for use in clinical courses, in legal counseling courses, and in courses on 'new directions' in lawyering. It will be of value and interest to those engaged in preventive law, collaborative law, restorative justice, holistic lawyering, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, and indeed to all who seek to humanize the law and its practice -- and to enrich the lives of lawyers. With this volume, law can take its rightful place as a legitimate member of the helping professions. "[This book] is a wonderful tool for lawyers in criminal or civil practice, litigation, and in all fields of law including dispute resolution." -- Carolyn E. Hansen, New York Law Journal "This collection of articles includes the theoretical basis of TJ, but most importantly, it shows how TJ can be used in a variety of settings and practice areas." -- Richard L. Halpert, American Bar Association