Papers to note: Challenges in Mainstreaming Specialty Courts

27/10/2009

Specialty courts have become a common feature of the Australian justice system. In some cases, such as drug courts, they were established to dispense 'therapeutic justice'. Some have suggested that such courts may herald a radical shift in the way the justice system operates in modern, democratic societies. This paper by the Australian Institute of Criminology, Challenges in Mainstreaming Specialty Courts, looks at the potential pitfalls of bringing the practices of problem-oriented courts into the mainstream system of justice.

**27 October 2009 **