Australia
Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Victoria, Australia
"Striking a balance between retribution and rehabilitation has been made more difficult by mounting evidence indicating that incarceration and even court processes often aggravates offender mental health problems. Subsequently, the same offenders get stuck in a "revolving door" criminal justice experience, where the underlying problems are not just ignored, they are often worsened.
"We had one man with an intellectual disability who was so terrified of being in a court room that he cut-up all his clothes just before he walked in, because he thought that would mean he wouldn't have to attend" says Viv Mortell, program manager of the court. "In this setting it's less formal, it's a problem solving approach and participants are put on individual support plans with achievable goals like going to see a neurologist or joining a community group."
TJ Judge Position Accepting Expressions of Interest
Judge Peggy Hora posted this on the TJ List. May we see many other legal jobs with descriptions like this one!
CHIEF MAGISTRATE
Permanent appointment
Expressions of Interest are invited for appointment as Chief Magistrate for the Northern Territory. Applicants must satisfy the eligibility requirements specified in section 5 of the Magistrates Act (NT). Beyond those minimum requirements, candidates are expected to have extensive legal experience and enjoy high standing in the legal profession. Applicants must have an understanding of the principles of restorative justice and therapeutic jurisprudence, and an aptitude for the application of those principles. Applicants should also be committed to continuing judicial education.
Peggy Hora: Jail is only for the dangerous
Editor's Note: Thinker in Residence Peggy Hora is getting some good press in Australia. I was very pleased to see this one:
Tough on law and order mantras are mindlessly repeated on both sides of Parliament
* TORY SHEPHERD * From: The Advertiser * March 30, 2010
"Relatively speaking, it's a pretty small group who are just bad, whom we can't let live among us. Multiple rapists, people who rape children, people who kill others, people who just don't give a damn," Judge Hora says.
"Who doesn't need to get put away is the guy who is pinching goods to feed his habit, who would otherwise be a law-abiding citizen."
She says punishment does not work, that the money spent keeping prisoners locked up could be spent on proven programs to change the course of these people's lives.
Peggy Hora: Thinker in Residence in Australia
Judge Peggy Hora has returned to Australia where she is a "Thinker in Residence" on the topic of law.
In this interview,
http://blogs.abc.net.au/canberra/2010/03/trying-criminals-in-a-new-way.h...
Judge Hora talks about what prisons are for and how to prevent recidivism.
Article: Judging, Judicial Values and Judicial Conduct in Problem-Solving Courts, Indigenous Sentencing Courts and Mainstream Courts
Posted by Michael King:
The following article has just been published: King, Michael S, “Judging, Judicial Values and Judicial Conduct in Problem-Solving Courts, Indigenous Sentencing Courts and Mainstream Courts” 2010) 19 Journal of Judicial Administration 133.
The abstract of the article is:
Law Reform Commission Final Report on Court Intervention Programs
David Wexler posted this on the TJ list:
Problems Oriented Courts Court Intervention Programs Final Report
The Law Reform Commission is pleased to announce the release of its Final Report on Court Intervention Programs.
The Final Report which sets out the Commission's conclusions and final recommendations is intended to be read in conjunction with the Commission's detailed Consultation Paper which describes how various court intervention programs operate and provides additional research and analysis.
Non-Adversarial Law Conference in Melbourne
From Mike King: The conference flyer and registration information (including a link for online registration) for the Non-Adversarial Justice conference to be held in Melbourne in May 2010 are available at: http://www.aija.org.au/NAJ%202010/NAJ10%20Infoflyer&Reg.pdf.
It promises to be an exciting conference. There is an impressive list of keynote speakers in diverse fields of non-adversarial justice or the comprehensive law movement. Bruce Winick and David Wexler are among the keynote speakers.
Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice has Problem-Solving Background
The Attorney General, Lara Giddings, today announced the appointment of a new judge to sit on the Supreme Court of Tasmania.
“I welcome the appointment of Helen Wood, a Hobart magistrate of 15 years standing and Tasmania’s first female magistrate,” Ms Giddings said.
Magistrate Wood will fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Pierre Slicer.
Ms Wood, 46, was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Tasmania and High Court of Australia in 1986.
Non-Adversarial Legal Education
A key criticism of legal education made by a number of non-adversarial justice or comprehensive law approaches – including therapeutic jurisprudence, creative problem solving and holistic law – is its focus on the case method as the pre-eminent approach to legal problem solving. Typically these cases are the most adversarial – those that the parties and their lawyers have not been able to resolve without an adversarial trial and often an appeal or two.
Cutting Edge Law Categories:
Humanizing Legal Education
Cutting Edge Law Categories:
Therapeutic Jurisprudence
Topics:
Law School/Legal Education
Topics:
Best Practices/Skills
Audience:
Lawyers
Audience:
Teachers/Professors
Audience:
Law Students Judge Hora Thinker in Residence
You can sign up to follow Judge Peggy Hora during her time as one of the Thinkers in Residence website at: Adelaide Thinkers in Residence - Peggy Hora. She'll be there Aug. 17-Sept. 25.
