Serious court : confessions of a prison judge

Tsui, Nelson M. 1950- (author.).

Summary: "Serious Court: Confessions of a Prison Judge is a book about prison inmates and the disciplinary court (officially known as the Serious Court) within the Canadian federal penitentiaries. It contains real stories of prisoners - many are hilarious, most are heartbreaking, and all are unique due to the unusual environment from which these stories arise. Behind these stories is an overarching theme which the writer, a former prison judge, returns to throughout: an emphasis that prison authorities should observe the rule of law when disciplining inmates, and that all parties - the staff members, the Indigenous consellors, and even the inmates,- should take Serious Court seriously, pun intended. Readers will also gain an insight into a world very different from their own, and an understanding of inmate discipline through institutional court proceedings."-- back cover.

Record details

ISBN: 9781896672434
Physical Description: 370 pages ; 21 cm
print
Edition: First edition
Publisher: Burnaby, BC : W & Y Cultural Products Co., 2020.

Content descriptions

General Note:	Nelson Tsui's Chinese name is 徐明耀, or Mingyao Xu.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Prologue -- Introduction -- To be or not to be -- Preparation is everything -- The Pacific Region and then some: part I -- The Pacific Region and then some: part II -- The good, the bad, and the ugly: my court advisors -- Disciplinary offences - Speaking of sanctions -- Frivolous charges, informal resolution, and fictitious defences -- What's going on in court? part I -- What's going on in court? part II -- What's going on in court? part III -- Aboriginal inmates -- Une audience en francais -- Model inmates -- Legislative changes -- Reviewing the inmate discipline program -- Administrative segregation or structured intervention -- Disobeing a justifiable order: a written decision -- Fights with, assaults, or threatens to assault: a written decision -- Fails or refuses to provide a urine sample: a written decision -- Fuckin' prison talk -- Telling stories -- Making a difference, maybe -- Epilogue -- Glossary.