| Mental Health Courts: Decriminalizing the Mentally Ill Contributor(s): Schneider, Richard D. (Author), Bloom, Hy (Author), Heerema, Mark (Author) |
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ISBN: 1552211207 ISBN-13: 9781552211205 Publisher: Irwin Law OUR PRICE: $53.46 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2007 Annotation: This book provides an overview of the historical and theoretical foundations underlying mental health courts. It offers a thorough description of a mental health court operation, including the role of each court team member, and guides those seeking to establish a mental health court. The authors analyze the successes, failures, and long-term desirability of these courts. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Law | Mental Health - Law | Criminal Law - General |
| Dewey: 345.710 |
| Physical Information: 0.62" H x 6.1" W x 8.93" (0.96 lbs) 296 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Mental health courts began as grassroots initiatives in the mid-1990s. Early versions found inspiration from the success of drug courts--an emerging brand of court dedicated to accused with substance addictions. On a very basic level, drug courts operate by offering accused a simple option: avoid serving a sentence for your drug-related offence by completing a drug-treatment program. One of the first known programs to tackle the problem of mentally disordered accused in the criminal justice system was created in Toronto. The "Diversion of Mentally Disordered Accused" became a program which was part of the Crown Policy Manual in 1994. The success of these specialty courts, along with a growing awareness that the traditional criminal justice system was failing individuals with mental disorders, combined to legitimize the emergence of mental health courts. In writing this book, the authors have sought to assist two groups of professionals primarily involved with these courts, namely, mental health care service providers and the various criminal justice professionals. Part I of this book is an overview of the historical and theoretical foundations underlying the mental health court movement. It outlines the various factors which precipitated the emergence of these courts. Part II offers a thorough description of a typical mental health court in operation. In addition to describing the role of each mental health court team member, it goes on to provide guidance to those seeking to establish a mental health court. Part III analyzes the successes and failures of these courts and ends with a critical look at the long-term desirability of mental health courts. |
Contributor Bio(s): Bloom, Hy: - Dr. Hy Bloom is a forensic psychiatrist and lawyer who assesses individuals who have mental illnesses and outstanding criminal charges. He is an associate of the Central Branch of the PSILEX Group, which provides consultation in behavioural sciences and the law. He is also a part-time staff member of the Law and Mental Health Program at the Clarke Branch of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto; and an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. Dr. Bloom is both an alternate chairperson and psychiatry member of the Ontario Review Board. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1980. He has published on a number of topics in psychiatry and the law.Schneider, Richard D.: - The Honourable Richard D. Schneider is a justice of the Ontario Court of Justice, where he presides at Toronto's Mental Health Court, and alternate chair of the Ontario and Nunavut Review Boards. He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Toronto, and an adjunct lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Justice Schneider was a criminal defence lawyer, a clinical psychologist, and counsel to the Ontario Review Board. He was recently appointed honorary president of the Canadian Psychological Association. He has published extensively in the area of mental disorder and the law.Heerema, Mark: - Mark Heerema is currently studying in the Masters of Law Program at the University of Cambridge as a Rt. Honourable Paul Martin Scholar. He has published in the areas of mental health law, criminal law, and constitutional law and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. |