Judging
The Storied Third Branch
This Superhero Wears a Robe: Chief Judge J.H. Corpening II
by Beth Dixon and Benjamin David
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsAn unmistakable glow emanates from the top floor of the Department of Juvenile Justice building in Wilmington, N.C. In Chief Judge J.H. “J.” Corpening’s office, a yellow neon sign illuminates the […]
Feature
Alternative Approaches: Beyond Problem-Solving Courts
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsProblem-solving courts were born out of a well-meaning experimentalist spirit, a spirit that is very much in line with the vision of a recent symposium on the multidoor criminal courthouse. […]
Feature
Toward Democratic Governance of Problem-Solving Courts
by Carlton W. Reeves and Con Reynolds
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsFor over a century, problem-solving courts have offered up the hope of reform to a justice system desperately in need of it. Unlike traditional courts, problem-solving courts — such as […]
Feature
Centering Humanity: Action, Assistance, and Healing in Newark, N.J.
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsDanny’s Pantry opened on July 18, 2024, the day before the anniversary of the death of Daniel Anderl. Daniel was murdered four years earlier in the New Jersey home he […]
Feature
Court-Involved Supervised Release: A Call to Action
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsThis article contends, respectfully, that all federal district and magistrate judges should help ensure that criminal defendants reenter the community safely and successfully following incarceration. Judges are well-suited to achieve […]
Feature
Empirical Evidence: What Judges Can Learn From Recent Social Science Research
by Isolynn A. Massey, Sarah L. Desmarais, Elan C. Hope and Samantha A. Zottola
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsCourts represent a critical moment that can influence a person’s trajectory through the criminal legal system, and judges play a key role in shaping the courthouse environment and practices. Indeed, […]
Feature
Trauma-Informed Courts? How Judges May Influence Kids’ Experiences of Court
by Eva McKinsey, Amelia Ashton Thorn, Minjee Kristin Kim and Catherine Gorey
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsResearch tells us that there are inextricable links between trauma and the juvenile justice system. Not only is trauma prevalent among system-involved youth (up to 90 percent report exposure to […]
Feature
Problem-Solving Justice: Build a BRIDGE
by Bruce Howe Hendricks and Piper Reiff Byzet
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsDrug courts first developed in the state systems and, after more than 25 years of success, the federal system took note. In 2010, the Charleston Division of the United States […]
Feature
Problem-Solving Courts Today: An Introduction
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsAll courts are inspired by a sense of morality. But “problem-solving courts” and, relatedly, courts with “restorative justice” approaches, are more explicitly imbued by the concept of conscience. Problem-solving courts are […]
Briefs
Announcing the 2025 Bolch Prize Recipient: Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani
Vol. 108 No. 3 (2025) | Problem-Solving CourtsTassaduq Hussain Jillani, the 21st Chief Justice of Pakistan, is the recipient of the 2025 Bolch Prize for the Rule of Law, awarded by the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law […]