Current research has found racial disparities in outcomes of problem-solving courts throughout the country. However, most of the research has not explored the causes of these racial disparities. This research qualitatively explores two prominent community courts in the northeast. Themes emerge about courtroom racial dynamics through courtroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that the racial makeup of the staff and judges play a role in maintaining a therapeutic rapport with non-white participants. Suggestions on how problem-solving courts can potentially improve racial dynamics are discussed.
AbramsD. S.BertrandM.MullainathanS. (2012). Do judges vary in their treatment of race?The Journal of Legal Studies, 41(2), 347–383.
2.
AlexanderM. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. The New Press.
3.
AshcroftJ.DanielsD. J.HerraizD. S. (1997). Defining drug courts: The key components. U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs: Bureau of Justice Assistance.
4.
Atkin-PlunkC. A.PeckJ. H.ArmstrongG. S. (2019). Do race and ethnicity matter? An examination of racial/ethnic differences in perceptions of procedural justice and recidivism among problem-solving court clients. Race and Justice, 9(2), 151–179.
5.
BakerT. (2017). Exploring the relationship of shared race/ethnicity with court actors, perceptions of court procedural justice, and obligation to obey among male offenders. Race and Justice, 7(1), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/2153368716650728
6.
BakerT.PelfreyW. V.BedardL. E.DhunganaK.GertzM.GoldenK. (2014). Female inmates’ procedural justice perceptions of the police and courts: Is there a spill-over of police effects?Criminal Justice and Behavior, 41(2), 144–162.
7.
BakerT.PickettJ.AminD.GoldenK.DhunganaK.GertzM.BedardL. (2015). Shared race/ethnicity, court procedural justice, and self-regulating beliefs: A study of female offenders. Law & Society Review, 49(2), 433–465.
8.
BelenkoS. (1998). Research on drug courts: A critical review. National Drug Court Institute Review, 1(1), 1–42.
9.
BermanG.RempelM. (2011, August24). Judges matter: How courts reduce crime and save money. New York Law Journal, p. 6.
Bonilla-SilvaE. (2014). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America (4th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
12.
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.
13.
BreitenbucherP.BermejoR.KillianC. M.YoungN. K.DuongL.DeCerchioK. (2018). Exploring racial and ethnic disproportionalities and disparities in family treatment courts: Findings from the regional partnership grant program. Journal of Advancing Justice, 1, 35–62.
14.
Bush-BasketteS. (2010). Misguided justice: The war on drugs and the incarceration of black women. iUniverse.
15.
ChenE.NomuraK. (2015). And justice for all? Racial and ethnic disparities in federal drug courts in California and the US. The California Journal of Politics & Policy, 7(2), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5070/P2CJPP7227275
16.
ClairM.WinterA. S. (2016). How judges think about racial disparities: Situational decision-making in the criminal justice system. Criminology, 54(2), 332–359.
17.
ClearT. R.KarpD. R. (1998). The community justice movement. In KarpD. R. (Ed.), Community justice: An emerging field (pp. 3–28). Rowman & Littlefield.
18.
ConnorT. A. (2018). Legitimation in action: An examination of community courts and procedural justice. Journal of Crime and Justice, 42(2), 161–183.
19.
CresswellL. (2001). Minority and non-minority perceptions of drug court program severity and effectiveness. Journal of Drug Issues, 31(1), 259–292.
20.
CurtisR.OstromB.RottmanD.SviridoffM. (2014). Dispensing justice locally: The implementation and effects of the midtown community court. Routledge.
21.
DannerbeckA.HarrisG.SundetP.LloydK. (2006). Understanding and responding to racial differences in drug court outcomes. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 5(2), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1300/J233v05n02_01
22.
DiAngeloR. J. (2018). White fragility: Why it’s so hard for White people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.
23.
DurkinM.CheesmanF.MaggardS.RottmanD.SohoniT.RubioD. (2009). Process evaluation of the Philadelphia community court. National Center for State Courts.
24.
FeeleyM. M. (1992). The process is the punishment: Handling cases in a lower criminal court. Russell Sage Foundation.
25.
FeinblattJ.BermanG.SviridoffM. (1998, July). Neighborhood justice at the midtown community court. In TravisJ.ThomasJ. (Eds.), Crime and place: Plenary papers of the 1997 conference on criminal justice research and evaluation (p. 87). National Institute of Justice.
26.
FrazerM. S. (2006). The impact of the community court model on defendant perceptions of fairness. Center for Court Innovation.
27.
FrazerM. S. (2007). Examining defendant perceptions of fairness in the courtroom. Judicature, 91, 36.
28.
GallagherJ. R. (2013). African American participants’ views on racial disparities in drug court outcomes. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 13(2), 143–162.
29.
GallagherJ. R.NordbergA. (2016). Comparing and contrasting White and African American participants’ lived experiences in drug court. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 14(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377938.2015.1117999
30.
GallagherJ. R.NordbergA. (2018). African American participants’ suggestions for eliminating racial disparities in graduation rates: Implications for drug court practice. Journal for Advancing Justice, 1, 89–108.
31.
GallagherJ. R.NordbergA.DibleyA. R. (2017). Improving graduation rates for African Americans in drug court: Importance of human relationships and barriers to gaining and sustaining employment. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 18(3), 1–15.
32.
HartleyC. C.PetrucciC. J. (2004). Practicing culturally competent therapeutic jurisprudence: A collaboration between social work and law. (Justice, Ethics, and Interdisciplinary Teaching and Practice). Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, 14, 133–181.
33.
HenryK.KralsteinD. (2011). Community courts: The research literature: A review of findings. Center for Court Innovation.
34.
HickertA. O.BoyleS. W.TollefsonD. R. (2009). Factors that predict drug court completion and drop out: Findings from an evaluation of Salt Lake County’s adult felony drug court. Journal of Social Service Research, 35(2), 149–162.
35.
HoT.CareyS. M.MalschA. M. (2018). Racial and gender disparities in treatment courts: Do they exist and is there anything we can do to change them?Journal for Advancing Justice, 1, 5–34.
36.
HoraP. F.SchmaW. G.RosenthalJ. T. A. (1999). Therapeutic jurisprudence and the drug court movement: Revolutionizing the criminal justice system’s response to drug abuse and crime in America. Notre Dame Law Review, 74, 439–537.
Justice Education Center, Inc. (2002). Evaluation of the Hartford community court. Justice Education Center.
39.
KaiserK. A.HoltfreterK. (2015). An integrated theory of specialized court programs: Using procedural justice and therapeutic jurisprudence to promote offender compliance and rehabilitation. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(1), 45–62.
40.
KaiserK. A.RhodesK. (2019). A drug court by any other name? An analysis of problem-solving court programs. Law and Human Behavior, 43(3), 278–289. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000325
41.
LangJ. (2016). What is a community court? How the model is being adapted across the United States. Center for Court Innovation.
42.
LeeC. G.CheesmanF.RottmanD.SwanerR.LambsonS.RempelM.CurtisR. (2013). A community court grows in Brooklyn: A comprehensive evaluation of the Red Hook (Community Justice Center Final Report). National Center for State Courts.
43.
ListwanS. J.SundtJ. L.HolsingerA. M.LatessaE. J. (2003). The effect of drug court programming on recidivism: The Cincinnati experience. Crime & Delinquency, 49(3), 389–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128703049003003
44.
MarloweD. B. (2013). Achieving racial and ethnic fairness in drug courts. Court Review, 49(1), 47.
45.
MarloweD. B.HardinC. D.FoxC. L. (2016). Painting the current picture: A national report on drug courts and other problem-solving courts in the United States. National Drug Court Institute.
46.
MarloweD. B.ShannonL. M.RayB.TurpinD. P.WheelerG. A.NewellJ.LawsonS. G. (2018). Developing a culturally proficient intervention for young African American men in drug court: Examining feasibility and estimating an effect size for habilitation empowerment accountability therapy (HEAT). Journal for Advancing Justice, 1, 109–130.
47.
MarunaS. (2001). Making good: How ex-convicts reform and rebuild their lives (1st ed.). American Psychological Association.
MckeanJ.Warren-GordonK. (2011). Racial differences in graduation rates from adult drug treatment courts. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 9(1), 41–55.
50.
MillerJ. L.JohnsonD. (2009). Problem solving courts: A measure of justice. Rowman & Littlefield.
PittmanC. T. (2010). Race and gender oppression in the classroom: The experiences of women faculty of color with White male students. Teaching Sociology, 38(3), 183–196.
53.
RollJ. M.PrendergastM.RichardsonK.BurdonW.RamirezA. (2005). Identifying predictors of treatment outcome in a drug court program. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 31(4), 641–656. https://doi.org/10.1081/ADA-200068428
54.
RubinH. J.RubinI. S. (2005). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (2nd ed.). Sage.
55.
SechrestD.ShicorD. (2001). Determinants of graduation from a day treatment drug court in California: A preliminary study. Journal of Drug Issues, 31(1), 129–147.
56.
SenjoS. R.LeipL. A. (2001a). Testing and developing theory in drug court: A four-part logit model to predict program completion. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 12(1), 66–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403401012001004
57.
SenjoS. R.LeipL. A. (2001b). Testing therapeutic jurisprudence theory: An empirical assessment of the drug court process. Western Criminology Review, 3(1), 1–21.
58.
ShannonL. M.Jackson JonesA.NashS.NewellJ.PayneC. M. (2018). Examining racial disparities in program completion and post-program recidivism rates: Comparing Caucasian and non-Caucasian treatment court participants. Journal for Advancing Justice, 1, 63–88.
59.
SpohnC. (2000). Thirty years of sentencing reform: The quest for a racially neutral sentencing process. In Criminal Justice 2000. National Institute of Justice.
60.
SteffensmeirD.BrittC. L. (2001). Judges’ race and judicial decision making: Do Black judges sentence differently?Social Science Quarterly, 82(4), 749–764.
61.
TerrellF.TerrellS. (1984). Race of counselor, client sex, cultural mistrust level, and premature termination from counseling among Black clients. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31(3), 371–375. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.31.3.371
62.
ThompsonC. E.JenalS. T. (1994). Interracial and intraracial quasi-counseling interactions when counselors avoid discussing race. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 41(4), 484–491. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.41.4.484
63.
VasquezM. J. T. (2007). Cultural difference and the therapeutic alliance: An evidence-based analysis (Report). The American Psychologist, 62(8), 878–885.
64.
WexlerD. B. (1990). Therapeutic jurisprudence: The law as a therapeutic agent. Carolina Academic Press.
65.
WexlerD. B. (2000). Therapeutic jurisprudence: An overview. Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, 17, 125–134.
WinickB. J. (2003). Therapeutic jurisprudence and problem-solving courts (Special series: Problem solving courts and therapeutic jurisprudence). Fordham Urban Law Journal, 30(3), 1055.
68.
WolfE. M.SowardsK. A.WolfD. A. (2003). Predicting retention of drug court participants using event history analysis. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 37(3–4), 139–162. https://doi.org/10.1300/J076v37n03_08
69.
WolfR. V. (2008). Race, bias, and problem-solving courts. National Black Law Journal, 21, 27.
70.
ZozulaC. (2019). Courting the community: Legitimacy and punishment in a community court. Temple University Press.
