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Homeless Group Representation in Detroit’s Problem-Solving Court

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2022

Lara Rusch Open the ORCID record for Lara Rusch [Opens in a new window]  and
Francine Banner
Lara Rusch
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Urban and Regional Studies Program in the Department of Social Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn, United States. ([email protected])
Francine Banner
Affiliation:
Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn, United States. ([email protected])
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Abstract

The proliferation of problem-solving courts reflects a growing recognition that traditional punitive institutions tend to perpetuate cycles of poverty. Problem-solving courts expand the types of knowledge and resources available to court actors to help them address clients’ basic needs, provide ongoing support, and reduce recidivism. But the same qualities that enable judicial flexibility and collaboration can also undermine court goals, affecting the ability of court actors to understand the needs of indigent clients and resolve outstanding legal issues. This article analyzes the role of a social action membership organization in establishing Detroit’s homeless court. Our findings document how the group’s involvement influenced the court in procedure and substance and created space for negotiations that foreground clients’ self-defined needs. Collaboration shaped how defense attorneys thought about the purpose of the court and what they advocated for when meeting with judges and prosecutors on topics such as court accessibility, client sense of safety, and (in)ability to pay. These findings suggest the importance of having those most affected involved in the earliest stages of court creation to access procedural representation. We also consider administrative barriers to establishing a homeless court model within district courts.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Social Inquiry , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , February 2024 , pp. 278 - 307
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Bar Foundation

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Footnotes

The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful suggestions, and our interviewees, who generously shared their time and insight. The authors received University of Michigan Internal Review Board approval in 2015 to conduct interviews and observe proceedings for this research.

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