Victims and Prosecutors

This chapter explores crime victims’ experiences in U.S. trial courts in relation to the passage, application, and adjudication of state and federal victims’ rights legislation (VRL). It reviews victims’ current rights established through legislation and case law: to privacy, information, and notification; to be present; and to be heard in pre-trial hearings, in trials, in plea bargaining, and in victim impact statements. It reviews qualitative research documenting how and why prosecutorial discretion is often exercised to limit victims’ participation in trials and pleas, highlighting incentives for emotion management. It also reviews proposals, which are counter to this standard, designed to achieve greater victim participation and to produce higher quality testimony, including extensive pre-court preparation and courtroom intermediaries. It assesses the efficacy of practices to protect victims from secondary victimization in court, including shielding (close circuit video and screens) and support dogs. It explores use of private attorneys to (1) ensure that prosecutors and judges comply with VRL and (2) pursue victim-directed, private prosecution of sexual assault in the United States and elsewhere. It concludes that the promise of VRL—to provide therapeutic justice outcomes, achieve victim satisfaction, and enact procedural justice—is yet to be realized in the United States; however, an evidence-based approach toward prosecutorial practice would be advantageous for victims.

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.

A flawed revolution? Interrogating the Transforming Rehabilitation changes in England and Wales through the prism of a Community Justice Court

This chapter investigates changes that have taken place in the recent past in relation to interventions with adult offenders in England and Wales, particularly in the context of the application of risk technologies and the increasingly managerial and market-driven set of arrangements. This review draws on criminological frameworks which examine such neo-liberal penal reforms, where social problems have been reframed as crime problems and where the application of the political policy of austerity has brought about the fragmentation and reduction of local services. Quantitative and qualitative data from a 2-year ESRC-funded research project are presented to illustrate and analyse the situations regarding ‘low-level’ offenders, whose cases were heard in a Community Justice Court in a large city in England. Detailed examination of this data reveals a complex picture of offending patterns, social issues and the pre-existing involvement of a wide range of statutory and third-sector agencies, even for many deemed ‘low-risk’ offenders. In many of these cases pathways out of crime seemed elusive, with rehabilitative interventions being framed in terms of penal narratives which emphasised individual responsibility and which denied wider structural problems. This critique raises concerns about the implications and consequences of these issues, particularly in relation to the widescale changes that were brought about by the Transforming Rehabilitation agenda. It argues that for constructive and effective interventions to take place in the field of community sanctions, including the therapeutic justice approach explored here, social justice and a more holistic approach to rehabilitation need to be (re)placed as central pillars of the criminal justice system.

Sexual Harassment of Women in Workplace in India

Therapeutic Jurisprudence is legal conscience seeking for a fully-functional system that involves collaboration of sensitized judiciary, academicians and practitioners, working in a congenial environment which collectively facilitates in healing process of the victim. Similar to the principles of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, preventive laws too aims for more humane approach with regard to legal matters. In fact, preventive laws may also be viewed as ‘pro-therapeutic jurisprudence'. In a more comprehensive and treatment oriented legal service system, prevention has to have prominence over healing goals. Laying emphasis on preventive law does not negate the importance of healing objectives set forth by Therapeutic Jurisprudence rather preventive laws supplements to the overall aim of enabling ‘healing power of law'. An ideal system would be wherein preventive laws are implemented effectively and therapeutic jurisprudence works efficiently. This chapter aims to assess the implementation of preventive laws and practicing of therapeutic justice for victims of sexual harassment in New Delhi, India.