The Stopping Hate and Delinquency by Empowering Students (SHADES) program is a teen court focusing on bullying and bias incidents. The program is run as a partnership of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Department of Probation, and the Museum of Tolerance. In this episode of New Thinking, David S. Wesley, presiding judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, and Camilo Cruz, director of community relations for the Los Angeles Superior Court, discuss the unique features of the SHADES program.
Courts need to assess offenders for traumatic exposures so they can match them to effective services and improve treatment outcomes, says Kathleen West, an expert on trauma-informed care and lecturer at the University of California. In this New Thinking podcast, West discusses what we know about the impact of trauma on litigants and the justice system.
In this New Thinking podcast, Tracey L. Meares, the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor at Yale Law School, outlines the four components of procedural justice and their power to enhance perceptions of government legitimacy. She also discusses how procedural justice is incorporated into Chicago Offender Notification Forums, an anti-violence intervention that she helped design. (June 2014)
Professor Edward J. Latessa, director of the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati, discusses the importance of evidence-based practices and the challenges of implementing reform. (April 2014)
Professor Tom Tyler of Yale Law School and Chief Judge Jeffrey Kremers from Milwaukee introduce the concept of procedural justice and discuss how improved perceptions of fairness can yield significant benefits, including improved compliance with court orders, reduced recidivism, and improved public trust in justice.
New York University Law School Professor James Jacobs, author of "The Eternal Criminal Record" (Harvard University Press), discusses the proliferation of electronic criminal records and the challenges they pose for a free society. (March 2015)
Originally published in the New York State Bar Association Journal in January 2011, this article describes how New York youth courts work to divert cases from criminal court.
Judge Stephanie L. Rhoades, who helped found and has presided over the Anchorage Mental Health Court since 1998, and Kathi R. Trawver, associate professor of the School of Social Work at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, discuss the court's origins, accomplishments and lessons.
Judge Braden C. Woods of the San Francisco Community Justice Center discusses the practical implications of expanding the court's caseload to include low-level felonies, and he reflects on his first year on the job. (April 2014)
Denise O'Donnell, director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, discusses the Bureau's strategic mission and holistic approach to justice reform. She also outlines the Bureau's new suite of Smart on Crime programs.