Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2025
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Program
Criminal Justice
Advisor
Deborah Koetzle
Committee Members
Rosemary Barberet
Hung-En Sung
Andrés F. Rengifo
Subject Categories
Courts | Criminology and Criminal Justice
Keywords
Drug courts- Latin America-Chile- Case processing- Decision-making
Abstract
Chile was the first Latin American country to incorporate drug courts into its criminal legal system in 2004. Like most Latin American countries, Chile incorporated drug court programs through a diversion program suspensión condicional del procedimiento (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal) mostly targeting low-level offenses and individuals without criminal records. In contrast to the U.S, drug courts in Chile are not specialized dockets and are restricted from the use of prison sanctions to address defendants’ non-compliance.
Today, Chile has 35 pre-trial drug courts offering drug court treatment and has become a model for other Latin American countries. However, the limited administrative data available and existing research suggest problems in the processing of drug court cases with low admission and graduation rates. At the same time, the implementation of drug courts by pre-trial courtroom actors leaves room for the participation of ad-hoc team members when assigned team members cannot attend drug court hearings.
Taking advantage of the unique features of drug courts in Chile, this dissertation relies on a mixed-methods approach and the theoretical frameworks of courts as communities and courts as inhabited institutions to answer the following research questions: 1) How do drug courts dispose of criminal cases? 2) How do drug court team members make collaborative decisions when processing cases? To answer the research questions, I compiled a novel dataset (N=529) using court files with individual-level data on active drug court participants and the identities of drug court team members who attend drug court hearings. In addition, I conducted semi- structured interviews (N=34) with drug court team members, exploring how working relationships, institutional policies, and the larger social context affect collaborative decision- making and hearing dynamics among drug court team members.
The quantitative results reveal several problems in the processing of drug court cases, including admission/graduation rates, delays in the decision to refer participants, and a general lack of stability among team members. The statistical analysis shows that crime type and jurisdiction are significant predictors of admissions, whereas the total number of hearings scheduled and the percent of hearings attended predict graduation outcomes. The qualitative results expand these results by exploring different strategies to make referrals, use sanctions and rewards, and decide to terminate defendants. The findings reveal a variety of strategies and a lack of unified criteria to process participants. Challenges related to case processing include a lack of knowledge about drug courts and team instability. Conversely, team stability fosters negotiations and referral procedures. Finally, the causes of stability and instability are related to factors beyond courtroom working relationships, including institutional policies and the larger social context.
Recommended Citation
Galleguillos, Sebastian, "Case Disposition and Collaborative Decision-Making Among Drug Court Teams in Chile" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6233
