As part of a conference sponsored by the Center for Court Innovation and the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, we asked justice system leaders and experts, "If you could make just one investment to improve criminal justice in New York City, what would it be?"
Safety is more than just the absence of crime. We asked people from communities around New York City, including our staff and people they work with, about safety—how they define it, and how they’d improve it in the neighborhoods where they live.
Explore the 25-year history of Midtown Community Court as the nation’s first community court, its impact on the justice landscape, and its unique community partnerships, including an emphasis on using arts programming as an alternative to incarceration.
Meet the teenagers of the Newark Youth Court. These young people fill the roles of judge, bailiff, advocates, and jurors, hearing low-level cases involving their peers. The sentences are always restorative, meant to provide a positive experience for the respondent and avoid a criminal record.
Survivors of sex trafficking are usually treated as criminals rather than victims. But some courts have begun to recognize that those arrested on prostitution charges are often victims of coercion, violence, and trauma. Our video, From Defendant to Survivor, profiles the innovative approaches being taken by courts in Los Angeles, New York City, and Columbus, Ohio.
Based in Rockford, Illinois, the Winnebago County Domestic Violence Coordinated Courts set a national example for responding to domestic violence. Intimate-partner criminal cases are heard in one courtroom, civil cases (including all domestic violence-related divorce cases and intimate partner orders of protection) in another. On-site victim advocacy, advanced clerical practices, open communication among the court and community agencies, and other innovative practices are key to the success of the court.
Lawrence Marks, the chief administrative judge of the State of New York, answers the question: How has the Center for Court Innovation helped the New York Court System advance its goals of bringing justice to the residents of New York?
Bronx County Criminal Court Supervising Judge George A. Grasso answers the question: What are some of the challenges to innovation in the court system and how do you overcome them?
