Therapeutic justice sees crime as a manifestation of the offender's illness in body or character and focuses on the offender's rehabilitation and healing and teaching the offender accountability. Examples of therapeutic justice projects include wellness courts, mental health courts, and drug courts. The Alaska Court System is making increasing use of therapeutic courts.

See also:
Anchorage Court System

Therapeutic justice in Alaska

• Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage. (Fall 2007). "Therapeutic Courts and Recidivism." Alaska Justice Forum 24(3): 2.
• Carns, Teresa W. (Spring 2005). "Therapeutic Justice in Action: An Evaluation of Three Therapeutic Courts." Alaska Justice Forum 22(1): 2-6.
• Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage. (Spring 2005). "Reports and Websites Relevant to Therapeutic Courts in Alaska." Alaska Justice Forum 22(1): 2.
• Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage. (Winter 2002). "Alaska Therapeutic Court Projects." Alaska Justice Forum 18(4).

Background information

• "Table 1. Comparison of Justice Theories." Table comparing retributive, therapeutic, restorative, and community justice theories. In "Alaska Therapeutic Court Projects." Alaska Justice Forum 18(4), Winter 2002.
• Problem-Solving Courts. Information from the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
• "Problem-Solving Courts: A Brief Primer" by Greg Berman and John Feinblatt. New York: Center for Court Innovation, 2001. Originally published in Law and Policy 23(2), 2001.
• "Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Emergence of Problem-Solving Courts" by David Rottman and Pamela Casey. National Institute of Justice Journal 240, July 1999, pp. 12-19.
• "Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Courts" by Pamela Casey and David B. Rottman. National Center for State Courts, Institute for Court Management, August 2000.

Therapeutic jurisprudence & problem-solving courts

• Center for Court Innovation. New York-based public-private partnership that promotes new thinking about how courts can solve difficult problems like addiction, quality-of-life crime, domestic violence, and child neglect.
• International Network on Therapeutic Jurisprudence. University of Arizona Law School.

Conferences

• Therepeutic Jurisprudence: The Second International Conference. University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 2001.

Email discussion lists

• Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Specialized-Problem-Solving Courts. tjsp@topica.com. International discussion group comprised of judges, court professionals, and researchers/academics involved with therapeutic jurisprudence and problem-solving courts.

Mental health courts
Mental health courts are special courts which handle cases involving mentally ill offenders by engaging them with appropriate routines of care.

• See also Criminal justice > Mental health & the justice system.

  Anchorage

• Anchorage Mental Health Court. The Court Coordinated Resources Project (CRP) was established 1999 in the Anchorage District Court to address the needs of misdemeanor offenders with mental health disorders. Also known as the Anchorage Mental Health Court, this court was the third mental health court established in the nation, modeled on courts established in 1997 in Broward County, Florida and King County, Washington.
• "The Court Coordinated Resources Project -- Mental Health Court in Alaska." Alaska Justice Forum 18(4), Winter 2002.
• "Evaluating the Anchorage Mental Health Court" by Teresa W. Carns. Alaska Justice Forum 18(4), Winter 2002.
• "Anchorage Mental Health Court" described in Emerging Judicial Strategies for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal Caseload: Mental Health Courts in Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, San Bernardino, and Anchorage by John S. Goldkamp and Cheryl Irons-Guynn. Bureau of Justice Assistance Monograph, April 2000, NCJ 182504.

  Palmer

• Palmer Coordinated Resources Project (CRP). Established in 2004 in the Palmer District Court to address the needs of misdemeanor offenders with mental health disorders.

Mental health courts nationally

• Emerging Judicial Strategies for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal Caseload: Mental Health Courts in Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, San Bernardino, and Anchorage by John S. Goldkamp and Cheryl Irons-Guynn. Bureau of Justice Assistance Monograph, April 2000, NCJ 182504.

Individual courts
These courts, along with the Anchorage Mental Health Court, are further described in the above document.

• Broward County Mental Health Court. The nation's first mental health court, established in 1997 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Admits mentally ill defendants charged with misdemeanors.
• King County District Court Mental Health Court. Established in 1999 in King County (Seattle), Washington. Admits mentally ill defendants charged with misdemeanors.
• San Bernardino Mental Health Court. Established as a project of the San Bernardino Superior Court, California, in 1999. Admits mentally ill defendants charged with misdemeanors or nonviolent lower level felonies.

About mental health courts

• "Mental Health Courts" by Karen Welch. Mental Health World 3(5), Spring 2002.
• "Mental Health Courts." Position statement of the National Mental Health Association adopted by the NMHA Board of Directors on November 17, 2001.
• "Fact Sheet: What Are Mental Health Courts?" Association of University Centers on Disabilities, 2001.

Drug courts
Drug courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with justice system case processing of substance-abusing adult and juvenile offenders. Since 1989, more than 500 courts in the United States have implemented or are planning to implement a drug court to address the problem of substance abuse and crime.

• See also Crime > Drugs & drug abuse.
• Drug Courts Program Office (DCPO), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Administers the Drug Court Grant Program authorized by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1994, through which it provides financial and technical assistance, training, related programmatic guidance, and leadership.
• National Drug Court Institute (NDCI)
• National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP). Membership and outreach organization for over 1,200 drug courts nationwide.
• In the spotlight: Drug courts. Information and publications about drug courts and the drug court movement through the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.
• Drug courts. Publications through the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.

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