MINIMALIST CRIMINAL COURTS

For many penal abolitionists, criminal courts have been complicit in mass incarceration. This Article argues that, unlike abolitionists, criminal justice minimalists should consider criminal courts part of the solution rather than the problem. Minimalist scholars have focused on advancing wide-scale public policy proposals, such as extensive decriminalization, through the work of legislatures. While such proposals are generally desirable, their sweeping nature may sometimes raise concerns over excessive risks to public safety and political feasibility.