Responding to domestic violence safely and effectively is a top priority for many tribal justice systems, especially given the high rates of domestic violence experienced by Native women. Strengthening the tribal justice response can take many, interrelated forms, but may include a specialized Domestic Violence Court as well as implementing Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. This fact sheet outlines the ways these two interventions can complement and strengthen each other.
Legal system fines and fees can trap people of limited means in cycles of debt, and even incarceration, lasting for years. As we work to support efforts towards the long-term goal of decriminalizing poverty altogether, this brief gives an overview of an important near-term reform: ability-to-pay assessment tools.
This toolkit was created by Designing Justice + Designing Spaces (DJDS), a non-profit architectural firm with specific expertise in evidence-based design research and designing spaces that counteract structural inequality through design. DJDS engaged with violence survivors and those who worked with survivors to understand their experiences with the waiting areas and conference room in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Essex County Procedural Justice Shooting Response Pilot was designed to test the application of procedural justice theory in the immediate aftermath of a homicide. The pilot framework included providing procedural justice training to all homicide unit staff and creating tools to reinforce the principles of procedural justice and increase legitimacy. This report summarizes the findings from the pilot that may be useful to other law enforcement agencies seeking to build trust with community members in the immediate aftermath of a violent crime, challenges, and lessons learned.
One year into New York State’s sweeping restrictions to the use of bail and pretrial detention, the reform has produced sustained reductions in the reliance on both. But, at least in New York City, the reform’s impact has been significantly diminished—most notably, by an unexpected mid-year spike in bail-setting by judges.
This guide provides lessons learned from the Center’s Restorative Justice in Schools Project. Over the course of three years, our team worked in five high schools implementing restorative practices. The theory of change was simple: strong relationships create safer and healthier school environments. The aim of the guide is to assist educators, students, and community members in shifting their schools away from punitive approaches and towards a more restorative environment, and to lay the foundation for the entire school community to build positive connections.
Research on the effectiveness and ethical mandate of prostitution diversion programs, human trafficking courts, and other specialized responses to the intersecting issues of prostitution and sex trafficking has produced mixed results. To better understand these initiatives, the Center for Court Innovation and RTI International conducted evaluability assessments of five such programs.
The Brooklyn Felony Alternatives-to-Incarceration Court offers community-based interventions and rigorous judicial monitoring, decreasing the use of jail and prison sentences and leading to reduced criminal dispositions.
Litigants involved in domestic violence cases often report being overwhelmed by the legal process—when the same incident gives rise to simultaneous cases in civil and criminal court, litigants may be shuffled between multiple courtrooms and courthouses. In order to support victim safety and meaningful accountability, court systems should work towards providing a holistic, coordinated response based on comprehensive information about all legal cases involving the parties before them.
Delays in processing criminal cases—long endemic to New York City's courts—drive up jail populations and impose harm on people detained before trial and on crime victims. A recent pilot project we implemented in Brooklyn succeeded in significantly reducing felony case delay. The project offers important lessons for New York's efforts to durably reduce its reliance on incarceration.
