abstract: Immigration courts fail to live up to courtroom ideals. Around 2009, proposals were offered to address the problems of these troubled courts. My study illustrates the inevitable linkage between court reform proposals and conceptions of fairness and efficiency, and ultimately justice. I ask: (1) From the perspective of attorneys defending immigrants' rights, what are the obstacles to justice? How should they be addressed? And (2) How do proposals speak to these attorneys' concerns and proposed resolutions? The proposals reviewed generally favor restructuring the court. On the other hand, immigration (cause) lawyers remain unconvinced that current proposals to reform the courts' structure would be successful at addressing the pivotal issues of these courts: confounding laws and problematic personnel. They are particularly concerned about the legal needs and rights of immigrants and how reforms may affect their current and potential clients. With this in mind, they prefer incremental changes - such as extending pro bono programs - to the system. These findings suggest the importance of professional location in conceptualizing justice through law. They offer rich ground for theorizing about courts and politics, and justice in immigration adjudication. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Justice Studies 2013

The thesis analyzes selected issues in the U.S. criminal justice system, and the solutions proposed by American libertarians. First, it introduces libertarianism as a whole, based on both contemporary and historical sources. The thesis then examines the real influence of libertarians on U.S. politics, and the possibility that libertarian proposals might be adopted. It analyzes the successes of the U.S. Libertarian Party and introduces movement and factions in the two major parties, Republican and Democratic, and today's influential politicians who at least partially promote libertarian proposals. In the final, pivotal chapter, the thesis uses the theoretical base provided in the first chapter to analyze the shortcomings of the U.S. criminal justice system, and the solutions and changes that libertarians propose. The structure of this analysis follows the generally accepted structure of the system itself, dealing with criminal law and its enforcement through policing, courts and corrections. On each of these levels, the thesis introduces both the libertarian critique of today's system and examples of specific issues and proposed solutions. The thesis identifies the so-called "War on Drugs" as one of the key points of the libertarian critique, and uses is as a case study which illustrates the impact of...