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: Grits for Breakfast

Excellent coverage of Travis County specialty courts

From Jordan Smith at the Austin Chronicle, check out this must-read series of stories on Travis County specialty courts:Niche Justice: Travis County specialty courts try to break the cycle of crimeAnd Now Veterans: 'We Owe Them'Recovery Projects: Alcoholism and Mental HealthFamily Violence Court: 'Homicide Prevention'A key criticism of specialty courts from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers was voiced in the first bulleted article: "'Judges make poor social workers.' The money spent handling social issues in the courthouse would be better spent on front-end services that might make it less likely that these populations would actually end up in trouble with the law."That's undoubtedly true. But we live in an era where legislative bodies have sought to impose criminal justice solutions on common social problems - from addiction to mental illness - that would be more wisely addressed in other arenas...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on March 25, 2010 (boomark / email).