%0 Journal Article
%T Mental health courts: Providing access to justice for people with mental illness and cognitive impairments
%A Liz Richardson
%J Alternative Law Journal
%@ 2398-9084
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1037969X19845681
%X Mental health courts have been established in four Australian jurisdictions to provide a targeted response to people with mental illness and cognitive impairments coming through the courts. This article provides an up-to-date overview of Australian mental health courts, discusses the evidence base underpinning them and identifies three important emerging directions for their future operation. These are the need for a contextualised understanding of the relationship between mental illness and offending, the importance of trauma-informed approaches and the role that peer support workers can play in mental health courts
%K Mental illness
%K cognitive impairment
%K criminal justice system
%K mental health courts
%K Australia
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1037969X19845681