Judges Carolyn Minder and James Cawthon preside over the Ada County Domestic Violence Court in Boise, Idaho. The court is one of three domestic violence courts in the U.S. selected by the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women to serve as a mentor court, helping other courts develop more effective responses to domestic violence. In this episode of New Thinking, the judges explain how they divide their duties, work closely with the community, and promote rapid disposition of cases.
This report summarizes the discussion at a roundtable on peacemaking hosted by the Center for Court Innovation, with the support of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, as part of a planning process to create a pilot peacemaking program in the New York State court system.
Highlights from a roundtable discussion about engaging the public in justice programming. Questions addressed included: How do you define "community"? What are the goals of community engagement and how do programs engage communities and retain volunteers?
The Harlem Justice Corps is an intensive career development and service program for justice-involved young men and women. Project Manager Taí Alex explains how the initiative works, and participants Elijah Blount and Anthony Brown discuss what they've learned so far.
This report presents an outcomes and impact evaluation of Nassau County Juvenile Treatment Court, launched in 2008 as a part of the national Reclaiming Futures initiative. Due to implementation obstacles and resource shortfalls, not all of the evidence-based practices that were envisioned for this court were fully realized. Outcome and impact findings were equivocal, with a majority of participants not graduating from the court and no substantial differences in re-arrest rates between the participant and comparison groups.
The Youth Justice Board made The Police-Youth Action Plan to educate teens about what they can do to improve relationships with police in their communities and across the city. The Board believes that teens should be able to take action on their own, and this guide provides strategies and resources to help them do so. Contact us with questions about how to get started at yjb@courtinnovation.org or 646-386-5925.
Aubrey Fox spoke with Phil Bowen, the director of the Center's London office, about his new paper on "community payback" (or "community service," as it is more commonly known in the United States). What follows is a short transcript of the conversation.
With funding from the National Institute of Justice, the National Center for State Courts completed this independent evaluation of the Red Hook Community Justice Center in 2013.