A Systematic Review of Specialty Courts in the United States for Adolescents Impacted by Commercial Sexual Exploitation

Nationwide efforts to enhance services for adolescents experiencing commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) in the judicial system have led to the emergence of specialty courts, including human trafficking and girls’ courts. Given that prior research has documented competing stances on the effectiveness of specialty courts for CSE-impacted populations, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to identify key characteristics of programming, profiles of adolescents served, and effectiveness of these courts. To identify relevant research and information, we systematically searched scholarly databases and information sources, conducted reference harvesting, and forwarded citation chaining. Articles presenting primary data with quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodologies or programmatic descriptions of specialty courts serving adolescents at risk or with confirmed histories of CSE that were published after 2004 were included. We identified 39 articles on 21 specialty courts serving adolescents at risk or with confirmed histories of CSE, including seven specialty courts with evaluation or outcome data. Across specialty courts, adolescents benefited from an increase in linkage to specialized services, improved residential placement stability, and reduction in recidivism—measured by new criminal charges. Specialty court participation was also associated with improved educational outcomes and decreased instances of running away. A lack of empirical data, specifically of evaluation studies, emerged as a weakness in the literature. Still, findings support that specialty courts can be an integral judicial system response to CSE. Multidisciplinary collaboration can help target and respond to the multifaceted needs of adolescents, encourage healthy behaviors, and promote their overall wellness.

Disability and access to courts: Assessing the accessibility of U.S. federal judiciary homepages thirty years after the ADA

Using basic accessibility standards, the presence or absence of essential usability features, and site accessibility statements, this study evaluates the accessibility of the home pages of the federal judiciary — those of the U.S. district, Appellate and specialty courts, the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts (AO), the Federal Judicial Center (FJC), and the main homepage of PACER, the federal judiciary’s e-filing and e-records access system. Software evaluations reveal detected instances of a narrow set of accessibility issues, including scripts with no accompanying functional text, images/server-side image maps with no text equivalents/descriptors, and inaccessible forms. Manual evaluations of Web sites show a high proportion (about 67 percent) of the home pages provided skip navigation links, whereas smaller proportions provided direct or indirect links to accessibility information — about 15 percent and 12 percent, respectively, as well as controls for manipulating font size (about 12 percent). Notably, a sizeable proportion (about 45 percent) of home pages provided direct or indirect links to a “BrowseAloud” explanation and download page, apparently in lieu of information on accessibility. Finally, content analysis of existing Web site accessibility pages and policy statements show a high degree of variation, with some being exceptionally detailed and informative, and some less so.

Accountability Courts and Diversion Programs

This chapter focuses on prosecutors’ roles in accountability courts and diversion programs, details their participation in creating these specialized courts and programs, explains their gate-keeping responsibilities, and discusses ethical rules raised by their participation. Specifically, the chapter describes drug courts and veterans courts, which are two of the most prominent specialized courts. Using these two specialized courts as representatives of other similarly situated courts, the chapter explains the history behind the creation of these courts, their structures, operations, and their specific goals of addressing the underlying causes of criminal defendants’ criminal behaviors. In the United States specialized court settings, the prosecutor, rather than being adversarial, tends to be collaborative with other court practitioners. In non-U.S. specialized courts, the prosecutors’ roles are not that significantly different from those of their U.S. counterparts. With ongoing efforts on reforming the U.S. criminal justice system, especially as it concerns issues addressed by specialty courts, U.S. prosecutors are likely to continue their support of these courts.

Courting Justice: Tracing the Evolution and Future of Domestic Violence Courts

Specialized domestic violence courts (DVCs) have been a popular judicial option for processing domestic violence (DV) offenders since the 1990s. While DVCs vary in structure, common core components for programming have emerged across courts in the United States concerning courtroom features and processes. This article reviews the etiology and history of specialty courts for intimate partner violence, discusses the common programming components implemented by courts nationwide, and provides an assessment of the efficacy of DVCs in holding offenders accountable while simultaneously protecting victim safety. Finally, the article discusses the ongoing challenges and implications with regard to community response to DVCs.

A longitudinal study of justice characteristics among girls participating in a sex trafficking court program

Background Sex trafficking is a public health and social justice issue that has traditionally been addressed with criminal justice solutions. Because many sex trafficking survivors are incarcerated for crimes related to their exploitation, specialty, human trafficking courts were developed to offer resources and assistance to labor and sex trafficking survivors. This study assessed justice-involved youth participating in a specialty, anti-trafficking court program. The purpose of this study was to investigate justice-related outcomes of participants in a specialty court program. We examined: (1) the relationship between age at first citation and justice characteristics (number of bench warrants, number of citations, number placements, and number of times ran away); and (2) the number of months between first citation and enrollment into the program with the aforementioned justice characteristics. We used negative binomial models to estimate the relationships between age at first citation, number of months between first citation and program enrollment, with the four justice characteristics (n = 181). Results Adjusted models showed that younger age at first citation was associated with significantly more bench warrants and citations while in the program. Likewise, fewer months between first citation and program entry was related to more bench warrants and citations. Conclusions There is a need to evaluate the appropriateness of specialty, trafficking court programs in reducing continued justice involvement and these programs ability to meet the evolving needs of sex trafficking survivors over time. We recommend universal screening for trafficking indicators for all systems-involved youth and relocating trafficking specialty courts out of juvenile courts to dependency courts.

Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Swift and Certain Probation

While the manifestation of therapeutic jurisprudence in specialty courts such as mental health and drug courts has received attention in the literature, there is little scholarship on the manifestation and function of therapeutic jurisprudence in probation settings. This study examines therapeutic jurisprudence in the context of a HOPE-based probation program called Swift and Certain probation. We observed status hearings and surveyed participants on their perceptions of the program for over 2 years. We found that therapeutic jurisprudence was manifested in the judge’s liberal use of praise during status hearings, which appeared to be an important part of participants’ positive perceptions of him and of procedural justice more generally. It was also manifested, though less directly, in interactions and relationships participants have with their probation officers. We conclude with suggestions for the implementation of therapeutic justice practices in Swift and Certain and similar probation programs.

Nonjudicial Influence on Family Violence Court Cases

Family courts have rarely considered how their decisions are perpetuating domestic violence and child abuse in the many cases where custody disputes are before them. Rather than judges playing King Solomon themselves, they frequently leave the decision making to mental health professionals and lawyers whose credentials rarely include an understanding of what is needed to recognize, stop current abuse and prevent future violence. This article employs a literature review to examine the consequences of this decision making. Research shows that both male and female judges are skeptical of mothers’ claims of abuse and that their opinions contain negative stereotypes of women on which theories of parental alienation are based. More frighteningly, when guardians-ad-Litem or Custody Evaluators were entrusted with these decisions, research shows an intensification of the courts’ skepticism toward mothers’—but not fathers’—claims of abuse. Traditional family court procedures continue the serious risk of harm to women and children by minimizing domestic violence and child abuse, often using unproven and unscientific alienation theories as an excuse not to protect them. The article concludes with a discussion of the role specialty courts that employ therapeutic jurisprudence can play in improving this process for children.