Oregon broke with the War on Drugs three years ago, decriminalizing the possession of most illicit drugs. The measure promised instead a "health-based approach." But the state has just ended the short-lived experiment. The law faced stiff headwinds from the start: from fentanyl's arrival to a relentless opposition campaign. But part of what went wrong was a challenge for any legislation: implementation. How do you make a sweeping new approach work on the ground?
Every major reform is a hard-fought win, but if your goal is genuine system-change, getting your policy passed is only the beginning of your fight. With the help of a range of seasoned policy campaigners and real-world examples, our guide highlights the elements of strong, sustainable implementation, helping to ensure your policy translates into lasting change on the ground.
Trauma informed care can often be an unmet need for individuals interacting with tribal justice systems. This publication and accompanying videos will strengthen practitioners’ knowledge on trauma, trauma within the Native population, as well as trauma informed practices that can lead to improved community outcomes.
The criminal legal system has a well-documented history of racial disparities and mistreatment of minoritized racial and ethnic groups. Treatment courts are a part of this same system and unfortunately, have not been exempt from racial and ethnic disparities in its programs. American University and the Center for Justice Innovation collaborated to assist treatment courts in several states in tackling racial and ethnic disparities.
The Center for Justice Innovation and RxStat convened together stakeholders in the criminal justice, court, and public health systems to discuss the treatment of drug use and prevention of fatal overdoses in the context of the criminal justice system, as well as the integration of harm reduction principles. This document, which maps many of the court-based problem substance use interventions currently utilized across New York City, came out of this forum of experts.
This guide on Risk-Need-Responsivity: Response Recommendations for Community Courts provides best practices for court practitioners in alignment with evidence-based RNR findings, including advice on incentives and sanctions and a response matrix template.
On Tuesday, December 5th, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Midtown Community Justice Center (formerly Midtown Community Court) with a group of changemakers dedicated to advancing justice in the city. Our executive director, Courtney Bryan, and Midtown Community Justice Center director, Danielle Mindess, led the event, with opening remarks from Midtown Community Justice Center Judge John Zhuo Wang and Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson, and a special panel discussion with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Mindy Tarlow, Errol Louis, Rasmia Kirmani, and Marlon Peterson.
Vincent Schiraldi used to run probation in New York City; now he’s questioning whether it should exist at all. Schiraldi says some of the roots of mass supervision—and its connection to mass incarceration—can be found in a surprising place: the Supreme Court’s 1963 Gideon decision. It recognized, but failed to adequately support, a poor person’s right to a lawyer. Hear the final episode in New Thinking’s “Gideon at 60” series.
In partnership with the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office, this study looks at the potential for offering meaningful alternatives to traditional prosecution for people accused of felony offenses in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, laying out key aspects of planning a successful diversion program.
New Thinking profiles the fight to secure lawyers for people facing eviction and the radical impact that is having in Housing Court. With its 1963 Gideon decision, the Supreme Court guaranteed a lawyer to any poor person facing prison time. For criminal cases, the decision was both sweeping and critically incomplete. On the civil side, the campaign for a right to counsel is taking a different approach—it's slow and piecemeal, but it's also working.
