Citation

Anleu SR, Mack K. Law Policy 2007; 29(2): 183-209.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, State University of New York at Buffalo, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9930.2007.00252.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Relatively little attention has been paid to lower courts’ capacity to bring about social change, despite the fact that most citizens who come into contact with the judicial system will have their case considered (and most likely only considered) by these courts. Often these citizens experience a range of problems that are social in origin, including precarious employment, welfare dependence, financial hardship, and various health problems, including mental health and drug dependency. Magistrates courts must respond to social change and its human fallout and, in so doing, can contribute to progressive social change in a local, personal, and incremental way.