Prosecutors and defense attorneys alike believe in the benefits of social service mandates for young people charged with misdemeanor offenses but differ over the usefulness of jail sentences, according to a survey and interviews of legal practitioners across three New York City boroughs. Those findings are contained in a report setting out current justice system practices for handling misdemeanor offenses committed by young people (ages 16-24) in New York City.
This report highlights key lessons learned in implementing the Second Chance Act Adult Reentry Courts, created by the federal government in 2007. The report presents final implementation findings based on three years of process evaluation site visits funded by the National Institute of Justice and is the last in a series of three process evaluation reports.
This study of seven Second Chance Act Adult Reentry Courts across the U.S. found the courts differ in their respective approaches and, as a result, in their effectiveness at addressing the needs of formerly incarcerated individuals and reducing future criminal behavior. Key features of the most successful site are also highlighted.
Since 2016, the community court in Eugene, Oregon, has met every week in the downtown library. It's part of an effort getting a lot of attention on the West Coast to bring problem-solving justice to friendlier settings. On our 'New Thinking' podcast, hear about Eugene's success with the new model.
A brief assessment tool designed for high-volume criminal justice environments is a strong predictor of recidivism as administered to pretrial defendants in New York City, according to this comprehensive validation study. Unlike many such tools, the Criminal Court Assessment Tool, developed by the Center for Court Innovation, identifies a defendant's risk of re-offending and also ascertains the needs potentially fueling criminal behavior, facilitating referrals to effective interventions.
The webinar addresses the specific needs of justice-involved black women and outlines a series of best practices for people working with these populations. It also highlights the work of the Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court in New York City and its Hidden Victims Project that works to identify victims of human trafficking and link them to services.
Research on justice system responses has shown the ineffectiveness of a one-size-fits-all approach to the specific needs of justice-involved black women. This webinar outlines a series of best practices for people working with these populations. It also highlights the work of the Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court in New York City and its Hidden Victims Project that works to identify victims of human trafficking and connect them to services.
On our 'New Thinking' podcast, Afua Addo, our coordinator of Gender and Justice Initiatives, explains our project aiding justice-involved black women who are survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
The Ada County Domestic Violence Court in Boise, Idaho, was created to improve the handling of some of the justice system’s most challenging cases: those involving violence among intimate partners. The court was designated a national Domestic Violence Mentor Court by the federal Office on Violence Against Women for its groundbreaking innovations, which include services to improve victim safety and defendant monitoring.
Victim safety is at the core of every domestic violence court's mission. A Domestic Violence Mentor Court, Dallas's County Criminal Court 10 places special emphasis on ensuring offenders surrender firearms. This new video from the Center profiles the court, and features interviews with court staff and a victim and defendant.
