Community Courts and Managerial Justice

• In Event: Pretrial Processing and the Right to Bail

Abstract

Since the inception of “broken windows” theory (Wilson and Kelling, 1982), misdemeanants have come to be viewed as a new “dangerous class,” requiring regulation and management. Research by Kohler-Hausmann (2013) and others concludes that the current processing of misdemeanor offenders is a form of “managerial justice,’’ designed to extend the net of social control over the new dangerous class. In this account, the criminal justice system uses tools at its disposal to monitor misdemeanor offender’s subsequent behavior to determine whether they are persistent offenders warranting more serious sanctioning. This extension of social control often occurs without the benefit of a conviction for the offense that brought the offender to the attention of the criminal justice system. “Community Courts” are a highly touted innovation that principally target misdemeanant, “quality-of-life” offenders by offering an improved approach to adjudicating misdemeanants stressing non-traditional sentencing options, extensive service provision, and community engagement. This paper inquires whether such courts also are part of the regulatory machinery of “managerial justice,” or instead provide an improved form of “adjudicative justice. Findings from three community court evaluations conducted by the authors are used to examine that question.

Authors

• Fred Louis Cheesman II, National Center for State Courts

• David B. Rottman, National Center for State Courts