NY Times examines “problem-solving” courts

The New York Times has this long and interesting article discussing New York’s experiences with drug courts and other problem solving courts.  Here’s the opening:

Starting about 15 years ago … some judges began … intervening in the lives of drug addicts to get them into treatment and keep them out of overcrowded jails and overburdened courtrooms.  Now, in drug treatment courts, judges are cheerleaders and social workers as much as jurists.

New York State is pushing this approach to new frontiers, creating a homelessness court, domestic violence courts and mental health courts.  Backed by the state’s chief judge, and bolstered by the court system’s own research, these new courts are, among other things, trying to cut down on the number of people who appear in courtrooms over and over again.

The piece seems a bit too rosy in spots, but my own optimistic instincts makes me want to believe these courts (and concepts of “therapeutic justice”) are a very positive development in the criminal justice field.  I have previously provided a lot of resources about drug courts in this prior post.