Navigating The Hidden Obstacles to Ex-Offender Reentry

As federal and state correctional institutions steadily release record numbers of ex-offenders each year, the communities into which prisoners are released are unprepared to sustain the economic and social burden of the massive reentry movement. As a result, reentering exoffenders lack the support needed to reintegrate themselves into society and to lead productive, law-abiding lives. This Article first explores political trends that account for the increase in incarceration rates over the last two decades and the resulting social, legal, and economic challenges of reentry both ex-offenders and their communities face. Only recently has the government begun to respond to these problems by establishing reentry courts that specialize in ex-offender transition, support, and supervision. After questioning the efficiency and institutional competence of reentry courts, the Article suggests two alternative ways in which the legal community might help to manage ex-offender reentry. First, public defender offices could evolve into a less specialized and more integrated role through which they could represent ex- offenders in a variety of matters related to reentry. Second, law schools could provide students with clinical opportunities through which to explore creative, non-traditional solutions to representation of ex-offenders. Ultimately, collaboration between lawyers and communities will be necessary to provide ex-offenders with the resources they need for successful reintegration

Punitiveness of electronic monitoring: Perception and experience of an alternative sanction

Electronic monitoring (EM) serves as an alternative sanction to incarceration. An important aspect that remains only scarcely debated in the literature is EM’s punitiveness and, more specifically, exactly how punitive EM is in comparison to different forms of incarceration. Responding to this gap, we propose a systematic meta-analysis of relevant studies that scrutinizes and compares different studies on EM and its punitive effects (or perceptions of its degree of punitiveness) in relation to incarceration. Ultimately, there is no simple and straightforward answer: EM’s level of punitiveness differs with the various sociodemographic variables of respondents included in the studies and the various characteristics of the penal system. It is necessary to assess the degree of punitiveness of EM to determine the conditions under and terms with which it should be applied, for example, as a humane substitute for incarceration or as an additional pain of the penal system

Multistable Figures: Sexual Orientation Visibility and Its Effects on the Experiences of Sexual Minorities in the Courts

A multistable figure is a cognitive illusion in which a single drawing contains multiple, competing images. On first viewing a person will see one image, but not the other – it usually requires additional information to trigger the viewer’s awareness of the second image. However, once you know about the disparate figures in the illustration, you cannot erase that knowledge from your mind and see a sole image as you did originally. This inability to ignore information and its effect on subsequent experience has parallels in lesbians’ and gay men’s treatment in the courts. Courts today are deeply involved in matters involving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons. Same-sex marriage, custody disputes, conflict with religious claims and other more routine criminal and civil cases all bring sexual orientation minorities into the judicial system as parties, witnesses, lawyers, or jurors. In addition to serving as legal institutions, courtrooms and courthouses are also workplaces for LGBT and heterosexual staff. Nevertheless, little is known about the actual experiences of gay men and women, either as court users or as court employees. This article examines the results of all the empirical studies of LGBT persons’ treatment in the judicial system and analyses common patterns among the research. Since sexual orientation is not uniformly apparent, but varies with individuals and over time and location, the article specifically explores how visibility of minority sexual orientation affects the perceptions, personal experiences, and treatment of court users and employees. The article also references behavioral and economic literature on LGBT persons at work and in other settings to show the similarities and differences between gay persons’ interactions with judicial systems and with other social institutions