Article: Judging, Judicial Values and Judicial Conduct in Problem-Solving Courts, Indigenous Sentencing Courts and Mainstream Courts

Posted by Michael King:

The following article has just been published: King, Michael S, “Judging, Judicial Values and Judicial Conduct in Problem-Solving Courts, Indigenous Sentencing Courts and Mainstream Courts” 2010) 19 Journal of Judicial Administration 133.

The abstract of the article is:

"Principles guiding judicial conduct generally, such as those in the Guide to Judicial Conduct, are influenced by the concept of an adversarial trial. Here the judicial officer is a neutral, largely uninvolved umpire seeking to ensure the fairness of a process mainly conducted by the parties. However, judging in problem-solving courts and in Indigenous sentencing courts generally requires an involved judicial officer, some collaborative processes, and increased interaction between the judicial officer, participants, court team members and community members. Judging in these contexts is often informed by therapeutic jurisprudence principles. This article argues that, properly done,judging in these courts and applying therapeutic jurisprudence in judging in mainstream lists does not violate the judicial function or judicial values of independence, impartiality and integrity. It also argues that an ethic of care should not only underlie these newer forms of judging but also all other forms of judging. It suggests that problematic situations concerning proper judicial conduct in and out of court may be addressed through the application of these judicial values."

The Guide to Judicial Conduct is a publication of the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration for the Council of Chief Justices of Australia.

In Australia the article can be accessed via Legal Online (Lawbook Online) published by Thomson.

The publisher will provide me with a pdf copy of the article shortly. So if you are interested in the article but are not able to access it I can email you a pdf copy upon request in due course.