Reflecting on Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Criminalization of Mental Illness and Addiction.

Problem-solving courts were created as a means of therapeutic jurisprudence. They arose in the context of the post-deinstitutionalization influx of defendants with behavioral and social problems entering the criminal court system. Seeing that typical judicial practices were poor solutions for individuals primarily facing problems such as homelessness, substance use disorders, and mental illness, courts developed specialized dockets as a solution to the problem of not being able to restrict the flow of these individuals into courtrooms.

Civil commitment in the United States.

This article reviews the academic literature on the psychiatric practice of civil commitment. It provides an overview of the history of involuntary psychiatric hospitalization in the United States-from the creation of the first asylum and the era of institutionalization to the movement of deinstitutionalization. The ethical conflict that the practice of involuntary hospitalization presents for providers, namely the conflict between the ethical duties of beneficence and respect for patient autonomy, is presented.