Law and Society Commons^™

Combating Substance Abuse And Violence In Jackson County, Missouri: A Public Health Approach To The "War On Drugs", Danielle Bukacheski, Grant Baker, Stephen R. Bough

UMKC Law Review

In 1989, Jackson County, Missouri, made history - voters passed the first tax solely dedicated to funding substance abuse prevention and treatment. Today, the COMmunity Backed Anti-Crime Tax ("COMBAT") continues to annually generate between $25 to $30 million that supports Jackson County courts, the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, local law enforcement agencies, and nonprofit organizations focusing on prevention and treatment. COMBAT has achieved success through its de-emphasis on punitive law enforcement practices and emphasis on public health. Instead of focusing on the prosecution of drug-related offenses, COMBAT is leading a more holistic "War on Drugs" by funding community-based resources to …

The Model Law Enforcement Officer And Other First Responder's Deflection Act: A National Blueprint For Creating Successful Deflection Programs Across The Country, Marc Consalo

UMKC Law Review

The idea of finding alternatives to the traditional approach of arresting, prosecuting, and punishing an individual for criminal behavior in the hopes it will deter future illegal conduct is not new. In 1947, the Judicial Conference of the United States met to make recommendations for the first diversion programs focusing on youthful offenders. Approximately fifteen years later, states began to explore diversion as an option for some adult lawbreakers.

The birth of diversion generated a novel approach to addressing criminal activity. However, before any individual could participate in a diversion program, law enforcement arrested the person which imposed a host …

Legislating Courts, Michael Pollack

UMKC Law Review

Judges are ordinarily thought of as deciders of a specific sort: people who apply the rule of law to resolve disagreements between the parties appearing before them. But in every state, judges do far more. They are charged by state statutory or constitutional law with a range of quasi-administrative, quasi-legislative, and quasi-executive law enforcement functions. These roles raise a number of theoretical and practical concerns. In many states, though, legislatures have gone even further. They have either wholly delegated significant policymaking power to state court judges or have sat idle while those judges have assumed the mantle of functions that …

Building A Successful Team In A Problem-Solving Court: The Western District Of Missouri Model, Carie Allen, Stephen R. Bough, Lajuana Counts, Arthur Diaz, Jeffrey Mccarther, Katie Meister, James Parker

UMKC Law Review

Problem-solving courts work. We know that reentry programs and intensive supervision programs like drug courts are effective alternatives to incarceration that reduce recidivism. For example, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri's Reentry Court has an 85.7% success rate for graduates, meaning they complete their term of supervised release without any new charges. A reduction of recidivism means hefty savings of tax-payer dollars. More importantly, successful problem-solving courts mean people engage in their communities, raise families, work productive jobs, and pay taxes.

Courts and legislators and executive branches around the country are increasingly turning to problem …

Problem-Solving Courts And The Outcome Oversight Gap, Erin R. Collins

UMKC Law Review

The creation of a specialized, “problem-solving” court is a ubiquitous response to the issues that plague our criminal legal system. The courts promise to address the factors believed to lead to repeated interactions with the system, such as addiction or mental illness, thereby reducing recidivism and saving money. And they do so effectively – at least according to their many proponents, who celebrate them as an example of a successful “evidence-based,” data-driven reform. But the actual data on their efficacy is underwhelming, inconclusive, or altogether lacking. So why do they persist?

This Article seeks to answer that question by scrutinizing …

A New Generation Of Reform In Drug Enforcement In Kansas City, Jean Peters Baker

UMKC Law Review

Jackson County, Missouri has been at the forefront of drug policy reform for decades, with the establishment of one of America's first Drug Courts in the early 1990s. This Article will delve into the impact of the county's shift in drug policy on the drug court model, both positive and negative, and where the county expects to go in the future. We will examine what we currently understand about drugs, including the destructive effects of drugs on individuals and their families, the history of the War on Drugs and its lack of impact, and the statistics on drug crimes and …

Engaging The Base: Using Veterans Treatment Courts In Missouri To Address Core Issues, Evan Rodriguez

UMKC Law Review

With a per capita veteran population surpassing the national average, Missouri presents its veterans with unique challenges in their day-to-day lives. For example, nearly one-third of Missouri veterans are disabled, compared to one-sixth of civilians. The State established the Missouri Veterans Commission, which supports veterans and their families with the veteran-specific obstacles they face. To that end, Missouri offers the second highest number of veteran benefits of any state in the country.

Like all groups of people, some veterans will unfortunately enter the criminal justice system due to varying factors. Veterans Treatment Courts ("VTCs") originated to address veteran-specific reasons for …

Kansas City Municipal Court's Domestic Violence Court Programming, Courtney A. Wachal, Gerald Sorensen, Jenna Phelps, Nephateri Hill

UMKC Law Review

The Kansas City Municipal Domestic Violence Court identifies cases as domestic violence if they involve intimate partner violence, violations of protective order, interfamily violence, or cases where there is a child witness. This court manages a large caseload of domestic violence violations that vary widely in the severity of the charges and the levels of violence.

The Kansas City Municipal Domestic Violence Court has prioritized their probation resources by focusing services on those cases that are most in need of supervision and on those cases most likely to be receptive to services. This article will discuss The Compliance Docket and …