New Thinking, from the Center for Justice Innovation
Center for Justice Innovation
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New Thinking is about justice—and injustice—in America. It’s about the people trying to fix a legal system that falls so short of our ideals, and about the people organizing to build something new in its place. It’s hosted by Matt Watkins and produced by the Center for Justice Innovation.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
Nov 4, 2022
Emphasizing the Harms
A recent two-day training for Manhattan prosecutors was a drumbeat on the harms of incarceration; hardly the typical message prosecutors receive. The training was part of a wider effort by D.A. Alvin Bragg to expand the use of alternatives such as treatment and restorative justice. But in a newly cramped climate for criminal justice reform, … Continue reading Emphasizing the Harms →
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Jun 28, 2022
Evicting Evictions
Housing is a human right. What if we designed our systems—beginning with Housing Court—to embody that? Given the current eviction crisis, it’s a far-off concept, but there’s work to make it a reality in pockets across the country. In this special episode, hear a profile of one of those efforts in a Brooklyn neighborhood. Full … Continue reading Evicting Evictions →
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May 9, 2022
Reform and Its Discontents
Nominated for a Media for a Just Society award, revisit New Thinking’s conversation with activists Victoria Law and Maya Schenwar. In their book, Prison By Any Other Name, Law and Schenwar contend that much of what is packaged today as “reforms” to the criminal legal system are extending, not countering, that system’s harmful effects. So … Continue reading Reform and Its Discontents →
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Mar 24, 2022
Why Data Doesn’t Stick
Efforts to reform the justice system often tout they’re “evidence-based” or “data-driven.” But at a moment when a national increase in crime, likely triggered by the pandemic, seems to have put the reform movement on its heels, why do arguments based on data rarely seem to win the day? Guests Christina Greer and John Pfaff … Continue reading Why Data Doesn’t Stick →
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Jan 25, 2022
Can We Close Rikers?
New York City has committed to closing its notorious Rikers Island jail facility by 2027. That could dramatically reorient the city’s approach to incarceration. The plan envisions a citywide jail population of just over 3,000 people. But the population at Rikers has been growing for months, and Rikers itself is engulfed in crisis amidst a … Continue reading Can We Close Rikers? →
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Nov 22, 2021
The Question of Dirty Work
Eyal Press contends there are entire areas of life we’ve delegated to “dirty workers”—functions we’ve declared necessary, but that we strive to keep hidden. In his new book, Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America, Press points to the transformation of jails and prisons into the country’s largest mental health … Continue reading The Question of Dirty Work →
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Oct 25, 2021
Taking Reform Out of Its Comfort Zone
Justice reforms often exclude people with charges involving violence, even though these are the same people most likely to be incarcerated and to be in the most need of the programs and treatment reform can bring. But a felony court in Manhattan is offering alternatives to incarceration, regardless of charge. Can a treatment-first approach be … Continue reading Taking Reform Out of Its Comfort Zone →
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Sep 22, 2021
The Crisis on Rikers Island
An audio snapshot from an emergency rally demanding immediate measures to release people from New York City’s Rikers Island jail. Eleven people have died in the custody of the city’s jail system this year as Rikers’ chief medical officer warns of “a collapse in basic jail operations.”
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Aug 10, 2021
Cages Don’t Help Us Heal
Hurt people hurt people. That’s not an excuse for harm, but it fuels much of the criminal legal system. At 19, Marlon Peterson was the unarmed lookout on a robbery where two people were killed. Peterson spent a decade behind bars. He writes about those years, and the childhood in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, that preceded … Continue reading Cages Don’t Help Us Heal →
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Jul 20, 2021
One of These Days We Might Find Us Some Free: Reginald Dwayne Betts
In 1996, 16-year-old Reginald Dwayne Betts was sentenced to nine years in prison for a carjacking. He spent much of that time reading, and eventually writing. After prison, he went to Yale Law School and published a memoir and three books of poems. But he’s still wrestling with what “after prison” means. This is a … Continue reading One of These Days We Might Find Us Some Free: Reginald Dwayne Betts →
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Jun 30, 2021
The Cycle: Police Violence, Black Rebellion
In her new book, historian Elizabeth Hinton highlights a “crucible period” of often violent rebellions in the name of the Black freedom struggle beginning in 1968. Initiated in almost every instance by police violence, the rebellions—dismissed as “riots”—have been largely written out of the history of the civil rights era. Hinton contends the period is … Continue reading The Cycle: Police Violence, Black Rebellion →
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Jun 1, 2021
Policing, Race, and a Crisis in Mental Health
One of every four people killed by police is experiencing a mental health emergency. Changing how we respond to crisis in the moment, and to widespread, ongoing mental health needs, means deferring to the leadership of people with lived experience and putting racial equity at the center of every reform. On today’s episode, listening to … Continue reading Policing, Race, and a Crisis in Mental Health →
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Apr 26, 2021
Does the Criminal Justice System Cause Crime?
What’s the most effective way to reduce the chance of an arrest in the future? A new study suggests it’s shrinking the size of the justice system in the here and now. Boston D.A. Rachael Rollins and the director of NYU’s Public Safety Lab, Anna Harvey, talk about the benefits of not prosecuting low-level charges—an … Continue reading Does the Criminal Justice System Cause Crime? →
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Mar 25, 2021
How Will the Death Penalty End?
Journalist Maurice Chammah says the federal execution spree during the final weeks of the Trump presidency is evidence of the death penalty’s continued decline, not its resurgence. Chammah is the author of the new book, Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty. Chammah tracks the long arc of the … Continue reading How Will the Death Penalty End? →
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Feb 2, 2021
COVID-19 Behind Bars: A Pandemic of Neglect
Homer Venters has been inspecting prisons, jails, and ICE detention centers for COVID-compliance almost since the start of the pandemic. The former chief medical officer for New York City jails says what were already substandard health systems and abusive environments have deteriorated sharply, where even people positive for the virus can languish unseen for days. … Continue reading COVID-19 Behind Bars: A Pandemic of Neglect →
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Jan 19, 2021
Heal and Punish? Treatment and Trauma Inside a Coercive System
How effective is therapy or treatment when it’s used instead of incarceration, and what are the challenges to conducting it inside the coercive context of the criminal justice system? New Thinking host Matt Watkins is joined by clinical psychologist Jacob Ham who works with justice-involved young people affected by trauma, and John Jay College’s Deborah … Continue reading Heal and Punish? Treatment and Trauma Inside a Coercive System →
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Dec 17, 2020
Josie Duffy Rice: Fighting a Big Fight
Josie Duffy Rice says remaking the justice system is a generational struggle, but it’s one progressives are winning. The well-known criminal justice commentator and activist, president of the news site The Appeal and host of its podcast, Justice in America, explains why she believes in the power of big ideas and offers her take on the … Continue reading Josie Duffy Rice: Fighting a Big Fight →
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Nov 30, 2020
Guns, Young People, Hidden Networks
Why do some young people carry guns? It’s a difficult question to answer. People in heavily-policed neighborhoods with high rates of violence aren’t generally enthusiastic about answering questions about gun use. In this special episode, hear from three of the authors of a groundbreaking year-long study into young people and guns. The findings are disturbing, … Continue reading Guns, Young People, Hidden Networks →
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Oct 26, 2020
Reform and Its Discontents
In their book, Prison By Any Other Name, activists Victoria Law and Maya Schenwar contend that much of what is packaged today as “reforms” to the criminal legal system are extending, not countering, that system’s harmful effects. So what is the ultimate goal of reform of a system like the criminal legal system? (Episode nominated … Continue reading Reform and Its Discontents →
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Oct 5, 2020
What We All Get Wrong About Gun Violence
While crime of nearly every kind has been declining amid COVID-19, in cities across the country, gun violence and homicides have been the exceptions. Long-time researcher and former Obama DOJ official, Thomas Abt, says there are proven solutions to reduce the violence. But he says both the right and the left fail to grasp the … Continue reading What We All Get Wrong About Gun Violence →
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Aug 20, 2020
Misdemeanors, Race, and a History of Injustice
The alleged use of a $20 counterfeit bill, selling loose cigarettes on a street corner, a broken brake light—think how many police encounters that ended with the killing of a Black person began with misdemeanor enforcement. If you want to shrink the role of police and the justice system, misdemeanors are the best place to … Continue reading Misdemeanors, Race, and a History of Injustice →
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Jul 6, 2020
Restorative Justice is Racial Justice
Restorative justice is about repairing harm. But for Black Americans, what is there to be restored to? This episode features a roundtable with eight members of the Center for Court Innovation’s Restorative Justice in Schools team. They spent three years embedded in five Brooklyn high schools—all five schools are overwhelmingly Black, and all five had … Continue reading Restorative Justice is Racial Justice →
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Jun 3, 2020
Justice and the Virus: Racial Patterns
The death of George Floyd after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for close to nine minutes has triggered a wave of long-held anger and revulsion across the country. Vincent Southerland, the executive director of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU, compares Floyd’s death—in public, in … Continue reading Justice and the Virus: Racial Patterns →
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May 22, 2020
Justice and the Virus: Rachel Barkow
With justice systems across the country scrambling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lot of talk about what justice is going to look like when the virus ends. But what has the response actually consisted of—especially from prisons and jails, which have emerged as epicenters of the virus—and is there any reason … Continue reading Justice and the Virus: Rachel Barkow →
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May 5, 2020
Getting People Off Rikers Island in a Pandemic
The infection rate from COVID-19 in New York City’s Rikers Island jails is currently almost 30 times the rate for the U.S. as a whole. As the city struggled to get people out from behind bars—criticized both for moving too slowly, and for even contemplating releasing anyone early from a jail sentence—it turned to a … Continue reading Getting People Off Rikers Island in a Pandemic →
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Apr 17, 2020
The Inequities of COVID-19: A Focus on Public Housing
In cities across the United States, the effects of the coronavirus are not being experienced equally. Whether it’s infection rates, deaths, or job losses, people of low income and people of color are being hit hardest. In New York City, many of those effects are concentrated in communities where public housing is located. The Center … Continue reading The Inequities of COVID-19: A Focus on Public Housing →
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Feb 12, 2020
Criminal Justice as Social Justice: Bruce Western
Bruce Western’s book, Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison, is, as its title suggests, about the challenges confronting people re-entering society after a period behind bars. But it’s also inevitably about the deep harms of incarceration itself. And moving further backward still, it’s about the problems and life-histories that leave people vulnerable to the … Continue reading Criminal Justice as Social Justice: Bruce Western →
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Jan 16, 2020
“One of These Days We Might Find Us Some Free”: Reginald Dwayne Betts
In 1996, 16-year-old Reginald Dwayne Betts was sentenced to nine years in prison for a carjacking. He spent much of that time reading, and eventually writing. After prison, he went to Yale Law School and published a memoir and three books of poems. But he’s still wrestling with what “after prison” means. This is a … Continue reading “One of These Days We Might Find Us Some Free”: Reginald Dwayne Betts →
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Jan 2, 2020
Introducing ‘In Practice’
In Practice is a new podcast from the Center for Court Innovation focusing on practitioners—people working on the ground to make things better for those touched by the justice system. On the first episode, host Rob Wolf looks at the challenge domestic violence cases pose to probation departments. Subscribe today (Apple podcasts)!
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Dec 19, 2019
College Incarcerated
At 24, Jarrell Daniels was released from prison after six years behind bars. It was a Thursday. The following Tuesday, he came back to the same facility in street clothes to attend the college class he’d started on the inside. He’s now a sophomore at Columbia University. The class that so inspired him was a … Continue reading College Incarcerated →
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Dec 4, 2019
Kim Foxx: Rooted in Humanity
With Kim Foxx running for re-election as State’s Attorney in Cook County (Chicago), it’s an excellent moment to revisit one of the best conversations we’ve had on the podcast. Foxx, the first African-American woman to lead the office, has faced a campaign of sustained, often vicious, opposition from the moment she took the job and … Continue reading Kim Foxx: Rooted in Humanity →
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Nov 8, 2019
What Do We Know About Community Service?
Community service has long been a staple of sentencing in the U.S., and has long enjoyed a sunny, mostly uninterrogated, reputation as a more restorative and humane alternative to fines and fees or short-term jail. But two new reports—one from the Center for Court Innovation and one from the UCLA Labor Center—suggest many of the … Continue reading What Do We Know About Community Service? →
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Oct 15, 2019
Ending Bail, Closing Rikers: How Change Happens
The movements to end cash bail and close jails are connected, and gabriel sayegh has been in the thick of organizing both fights. The co-executive director of the Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice explains why he thinks New York’s impending reforms to bail are potentially the most sweeping in the country. And in … Continue reading Ending Bail, Closing Rikers: How Change Happens →
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Sep 25, 2019
‘Jail-Attributable Deaths’
As chief medical officer for New York City jails, Homer Venters realized early in his tenure that for many people dying in jail, the primary cause of death was jail itself. To document these deaths, Venters and his team created a statistical category no one had dared to track before: “jail-attributable deaths.” His work led … Continue reading ‘Jail-Attributable Deaths’ →
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Sep 4, 2019
Art vs. Mass Incarceration
Can art transform the criminal justice system? On this special edition of New Thinking, host Matt Watkins sits down with two New York City artists on the rise—Derek Fordjour and Shaun Leonardo—who both work with our Project Reset to provide an arts-based alternative to court and a criminal record for people arrested on a low-level … Continue reading Art vs. Mass Incarceration →
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Aug 14, 2019
Beyond the Algorithm: Risk and Race
**episode originally aired in October 2018** About two out of three people in local jails are being held awaiting trial, often because they can’t afford bail. What if a mathematical formula could do a more objective job of identifying who could be safely released? That’s the promise of risk assessments. But critics call them “justice … Continue reading Beyond the Algorithm: Risk and Race →
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Jul 10, 2019
The Art and Science of Reducing Violence
In 2017, more than 17,000 people were murdered in the United States, most of them in cities. Thomas Abt, a long-time policy-maker and researcher, says that far from intractable, there are proven ways to reduce the violence, but he worries the urgency of acting now is being ignored. And when it comes to how we … Continue reading The Art and Science of Reducing Violence →
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Jun 21, 2019
Marilyn Mosby, Karl Racine: “We’re Talking About Humans”
With so much of the focus now on keeping people out of jail and prison, it can feel like there is a reluctance among criminal justice reformers to work on improving life for the more than two million people already there. But one group beginning to mobilize on the issue is prosecutors—or at least “progressive” … Continue reading Marilyn Mosby, Karl Racine: “We’re Talking About Humans” →
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Jun 6, 2019
Prosecutor Power: Scott Hechinger on the Urgency of Reform
If you’re not following Scott Hechinger on Twitter, you’re missing something important. A public defender and the director of policy at Brooklyn Defender Services, Hechinger is a fantastic explainer and participant-witness at the frontlines of the justice system. In May 2018, he joined our series on prosecutors, outlining how prosecutor power is exerted at key … Continue reading Prosecutor Power: Scott Hechinger on the Urgency of Reform →
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May 22, 2019
The Pathological Politics of Criminal Justice
Rachel Barkow contends criminal justice policy is a “prisoner of politics,” driven by appeals to voters’ worst instincts and an aversion to evidence of what actually works. Defined by its severity and unfairness, the criminal justice system, she says, is counterproductive to the goal of public safety it claims as its justification. In her new … Continue reading The Pathological Politics of Criminal Justice →
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May 1, 2019
Emily Bazelon: When Power Shifts
The well-known journalist and commentator Emily Bazelon talks about her new book, Charged, on the “movement to transform American prosecution,” and where she thinks power might be shifting in the criminal justice system. So-called progressive prosecutors are very much a minority among elected D.A.s, but what if they could be the model for dismantling what … Continue reading Emily Bazelon: When Power Shifts →
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Apr 17, 2019
Misdemeanors Matter #3: Rachael Rollins Reboots Low-Level Justice
Rachael Rollins says she has seen the criminal justice system from “almost every angle.” Now, as Boston’s first female African-American district attorney, she’s setting the agenda. She explains her new approach of “services not sentences” as a response to low-level “crimes of poverty” and the urgency of changing the traditional role of the prosecutor. Full … Continue reading Misdemeanors Matter #3: Rachael Rollins Reboots Low-Level Justice →
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Mar 29, 2019
New Jails to End All Jails?
Rikers Island was once the dream of progressive reformers for a more rehabilitative corrections system. Now New York City, taking advantage of its plunging jail population, has pledged to replace the scandal-plagued complex with four smaller redesigned facilities—located near courthouses, not on an isolated island. It’s a shift the mayor says will end the era … Continue reading New Jails to End All Jails? →
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Mar 13, 2019
The Cost of Being Poor? The Fight Against Fines and Fees
Almost any encounter with the criminal justice system comes with a price tag, and fines and fees are capturing millions of Americans in a cycle of poverty and justice-involvement. Various states across the country charge you for using a public defender, a DNA sample, your monthly parole meetings, even a jury trial. And that’s in … Continue reading The Cost of Being Poor? The Fight Against Fines and Fees →
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Feb 20, 2019
Prosecutor Power #8: What’s Next for Progressive Prosecutors?
How can the recent victories of the campaign to elect reform-minded district attorneys be wedded to larger systemic change to ensure the movement’s gains outlast the next election? On the final episode of our Prosecutor Power series, the ACLU’s Somil Trivedi says progressive D.A.s have to take the next step of campaigning to reduce their own … Continue reading Prosecutor Power #8: What’s Next for Progressive Prosecutors? →
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Feb 6, 2019
Misdemeanors Matter #2: Alexandra Natapoff on a Legacy of Injustice
Alexandra Natapoff calls the misdemeanor justice system a “quiet behemoth”: making up four of every five criminal cases in the U.S., neglected by scholars and reformers, and potentially harming those caught up in it for life. In Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal, she describes … Continue reading Misdemeanors Matter #2: Alexandra Natapoff on a Legacy of Injustice →
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Jan 25, 2019
Prosecutor Power #7: Strength in Numbers
The movement to elect reform-minded prosecutors has been around long enough and scored enough victories that progressive D.A.s now have their own support network: Fair and Just Prosecution. Miriam Krinsky, its executive director, explains why she thinks “starry-eyed idealists” who want to transform the justice system need to get the message that “the biggest difference … Continue reading Prosecutor Power #7: Strength in Numbers →
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Jan 9, 2019
Heal and Punish? When Therapy Is the Alternative to Incarceration
How effective is therapy or treatment when it’s used instead of incarceration, and what are the challenges to conducting it inside the coercive context of the criminal justice system? New Thinking host Matt Watkins is joined by clinical psychologist Jacob Ham who works with justice-involved young people affected by trauma, and John Jay College’s Deborah … Continue reading Heal and Punish? When Therapy Is the Alternative to Incarceration →
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Dec 26, 2018
Rikers: An American Jail (Best of 2018)
Highlights from a public screening and panel discussion of Bill Moyers’s ‘Rikers: An American Jail,’ moderated by New Thinking host, Matt Watkins. Commenting on the film and the future of criminal justice reform are Tina Luongo of the Legal Aid Society, Jill Harris of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, and two of the people formerly … Continue reading Rikers: An American Jail (Best of 2018) →
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Dec 12, 2018
Prosecutor Power #6: Larry Krasner, The Antagonist
As a defense attorney, Larry Krasner sued the Philadelphia police upwards of 75 times. In late 2017, he was elected D.A. in a landslide. As part of our series on the power of prosecutors, Krasner explains why he has little patience for compromise in a city whose justice system is “an outlier in a country … Continue reading Prosecutor Power #6: Larry Krasner, The Antagonist →
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Nov 9, 2018
Race, Trauma, and Healing in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
An audio portrait of Make It Happen, our program working with young men of color in Crown Heights, Brooklyn affected by violence. Through interviews with participants and practitioners, the episode explores the intersections of trauma, involvement with the justice system, and the lived experience of race. This episode was originally released in April 2018 and … Continue reading Race, Trauma, and Healing in Crown Heights, Brooklyn →
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Oct 26, 2018
Misdemeanors Matter #1: Social Control and the Lower Criminal Courts
In Misdemeanorland, Issa Kohler-Hausmann argues the lower courts are no longer primarily concerned with whether people actually committed the offense they’ve been accused of. Instead, the focus is on future behavior: upholding social order through managing and assessing—often over long stretches—everyone with the misfortune of entering Misdemeanorland. It’s an argument that forces us to rethink … Continue reading Misdemeanors Matter #1: Social Control and the Lower Criminal Courts →
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Oct 5, 2018
The Most Hot-Button Issue in Criminal Justice Reform?
About two out of three people in local jails are being held awaiting trial, often because they can’t afford bail. What if a mathematical formula could do a more objective job of identifying who could be safely released? That’s the promise of risk assessments. But critics call them “justice by algorithm,” and contend they’re reproducing the … Continue reading The Most Hot-Button Issue in Criminal Justice Reform? →
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Sep 20, 2018
Prosecutor Power #4: Kim Foxx, Rooted in Humanity
Kim Foxx’s unexpected 2016 victory in the race for State’s Attorney for Cook County (Chicago) helped to ignite the movement to elect prosecutors promising something other than being “tough on crime.” As part of our series on prosecutor power, Foxx explains the reforms she’s put in place, her struggles with being the face of a … Continue reading Prosecutor Power #4: Kim Foxx, Rooted in Humanity →
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Sep 6, 2018
Criminal Justice as Social Justice: A Conversation With Bruce Western
Columbia University’s Bruce Western, a leading expert on the connection between mass incarceration and poverty, discusses his new book, Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison, and outlines his vision for a justice system rebuilt to respond to the deep deprivation and trauma fueling much of the behaviour that leads to imprisonment. Full show notes … Continue reading Criminal Justice as Social Justice: A Conversation With Bruce Western →
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Aug 22, 2018
Financial Insecurity and Domestic Violence: A Conversation about Child Support
For survivors of domestic violence, financial insecurity is often a huge problem. Without money to support themselves and their families, survivors can struggle to gain independence. In this New Thinking podcast, Michael Hayes from the Office of Child Support Enforcement and Krista Del Gallo from the Texas Council on Family Violence talk with Robert V. … Continue reading Financial Insecurity and Domestic Violence: A Conversation about Child Support →
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Aug 8, 2018
Prosecutor Power #3: Reform From Within—The Brooklyn D.A.
Jill Harris says she’s “shocked to find myself working for a D.A.” A long-time advocate for criminal justice reform, Harris, now the head of the Brooklyn D.A.’s Justice 2020 reform initiative, offers her take on the role of the prosecutor in the third installment of our series on the debate over prosecutor power. Full show … Continue reading Prosecutor Power #3: Reform From Within—The Brooklyn D.A. →
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Jul 20, 2018
How the Law Intersects with Everyday Life: Promoting Access to Civil Justice
Legal Hand seeks to help people resolve civil justice issues before they need lawyers and court intervention. In our latest New Thinking episode, learn about how the program works, how civil justice issues impact different communities, and why it can be hard to get basic legal information to the people who need it.
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Jul 5, 2018
Rikers: An American Jail
Highlights from a public screening and panel discussion of Bill Moyers’s ‘Rikers: An American Jail,’ moderated by New Thinking host, Matt Watkins. Commenting on the film and the future of criminal justice reform are Tina Luongo of the Legal Aid Society, Jill Harris of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, and two of the people formerly … Continue reading Rikers: An American Jail →
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Jun 20, 2018
Keeping the Peace: Patrick Sharkey on Sustaining the Great Crime Decline
Patrick Sharkey, the author of Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence, discusses the wider costs of violence and the threat posed by inequality and disinvestment to the current fragile gains. He points to the signal role of community organizing and community-based nonprofits in combating … Continue reading Keeping the Peace: Patrick Sharkey on Sustaining the Great Crime Decline →
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Jun 6, 2018
How Do We Tell What’s Working? Disrupting the Justice Evaluation Model
Who gets to decide which reforms to the criminal justice system receive the imprimatur of “evidence-based”? To combat what she sees as the monopoly over these decisions created by the high cost of the current evaluation model, Angela Hawken founded BetaGov, offering free and fast evaluations of public policy programs. What is more, as Hawken … Continue reading How Do We Tell What’s Working? Disrupting the Justice Evaluation Model →
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May 23, 2018
Putting the Public in Public Defending: Standing Up for a Profession in Crisis
Nashville’s top public defender Dawn Deaner explains why she thinks public defending has been “set up to fail” and how working to engage the community—both those who need public defenders and those who never will—is a lifeline for a profession in crisis. Full show notes (includes pictures and episode transcript)
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May 4, 2018
Prosecutor Power #2: A Public Defender on the Urgency of Reform
As part of our series on prosecutor power, Scott Hechinger of Brooklyn Defender Services offers a view from the other side of the adversarial process, discussing prosecutors’ impact at key decision-points in his clients’ cases and weighing the prospects for reform in a time of increasing scrutiny of prosecutorial discretion. (Episode chosen as ‘Best of … Continue reading Prosecutor Power #2: A Public Defender on the Urgency of Reform →
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Apr 19, 2018
Violence, Trauma, and Healing in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
An audio portrait of Make It Happen, our program working with young men of color in Crown Heights, Brooklyn affected by violence. Through interviews with participants and practitioners, the episode explores the intersections of trauma, involvement with the justice system, and the lived experience of race. (Episode chosen as ‘Best of 2018‘ by the Vera … Continue reading Violence, Trauma, and Healing in Crown Heights, Brooklyn →
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Mar 27, 2018
Prosecutor Power #1: John Pfaff on Mass Incarceration
On ‘New Thinking,’ author John Pfaff outlines his argument for how prosecutors have contributed to mass incarceration and considers how much can be expected from the emerging breed of progressive D.A.’s. This is the first in our podcast series on the power of prosecutors. Full show notes (includes pictures, resources, and episode transcript)
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Mar 20, 2018
Kansas City Domestic Violence Court: Assessing Risk, Addressing Needs
In this New Thinking podcast, Judge Courtney Wachal and Megan Sartin, the offender accountability coordinator, explain the operations of the Kansas City Domestic Violence Court, an Office on Violence Against Women designated mentor court.
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Mar 7, 2018
Reducing Incarceration Now: A Conversation About ‘Start Here’
The Center for Court Innovation’s Greg Berman and Julian Adler discuss their new book, Start Here: A Road Map to Reducing Mass Incarceration. Full show notes (includes pictures, resources, and episode transcript)
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Feb 21, 2018
Renewing Justice: When the Library Becomes a Community Court
Since 2016, the community court in Eugene, Oregon, has met every week in the downtown library. It’s part of an effort getting a lot of attention on the West Coast to bring problem-solving justice to friendlier settings. On our ‘New Thinking’ podcast, hear about Eugene’s success with the new model.
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Jan 10, 2018
Project SAFE: Improving Services for Criminalized Black Women
On our ‘New Thinking’ podcast, Afua Addo, our coordinator of Gender and Justice Initiatives, explains our project aiding justice-involved black women who are survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
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Oct 17, 2017
Designing Decarceration: Architect Deanna Van Buren
On our New Thinking podcast, the Oakland-based architect explains her firm’s mission to use design to counter incarceration and promote the use of restorative justice. She also discusses her work on our Near Westside Peacemaking Center in Syracuse, N.Y.
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Aug 15, 2017
Improving Access to Civil Justice: A Conversation with Jordan Dressler
Jordan Dressler, the director of the recently created New York City Office of Civil Justice, discusses Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ambitious five-year plan to provide free or low-cost legal assistance to every low-income New Yorker facing eviction, deportation, or other potentially life-altering civil proceedings. The interview focuses in detail on the benefits this guarantee is … Continue reading Improving Access to Civil Justice: A Conversation with Jordan Dressler →
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Jun 15, 2017
Using Volunteers to Evaluate the Courtroom Experience: A Conversation about CourtWatch of King County, Wash.
Court observation programs around the country send volunteers into courts to observe, collect data, and sometimes issue reports about what they’ve seen. Their goals include keeping courts accountable to the public and improving transparency, but not all courts are eager to receive public feedback. CourtWatch of King County, Washington, has worked closely with its local … Continue reading Using Volunteers to Evaluate the Courtroom Experience: A Conversation about CourtWatch of King County, Wash. →
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Apr 21, 2017
The End of Rikers? Courtney Bryan on the Call to Close the Rikers Island Jails
Rikers Island is “a stain on our great city” and should be closed. That’s the headline-grabbing conclusion of the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform. Matt Watkins speaks to the Center for Court Innovation’s Courtney Bryan to learn more about the Center’s role in researching and producing the commission’s report, … Continue reading The End of Rikers? Courtney Bryan on the Call to Close the Rikers Island Jails →
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Mar 23, 2017
Reducing New York City’s Jail Population
New York City’s incarceration rates have been dropping steadily, but a new report from the Center for Court Innovation, in collaboration with the Vera Institute of Justice, suggests the city’s jail population can still be brought significantly lower. The report looks in detail at key decision-points along the path from arrest through bail to sentencing … Continue reading Reducing New York City’s Jail Population →
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Jan 16, 2017
Problem-Solving in L.A.: Multiple Issues, One Collaborative Court
In this New Thinking podcast, Judge Marcelita Haynes of the Los Angeles Superior Court talks with Matt Watkins about Community Collaborative Courts, the county’s new approach to problem-solving justice. Judge Haynes says the courts look for long-term solutions to a range of problems—from mental health issues to homelessness—that can fuel repeated contact with the criminal … Continue reading Problem-Solving in L.A.: Multiple Issues, One Collaborative Court →
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Dec 16, 2016
Seeking Evidence: A Professor Looks for Empirical Proof to Improve Access to Justice
In this New Thinking podcast, Harvard Law School Professor James Greiner talks with Aubrey Fox about why he launched the Access to Justice Lab, which has researched topics as varied as how to provide self-help materials to defendants involved in civil debt collection cases to the effectiveness of commonly used pretrial assessment interview tools in … Continue reading Seeking Evidence: A Professor Looks for Empirical Proof to Improve Access to Justice →
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Dec 13, 2016
How Can Lawyers Help Address Poverty and Eviction? A Conversation with Law Professor Raymond Brescia
In this New Thinking podcast, Raymond H. Brescia, associate professor of Law at Albany Law School, speaks with Aubrey Fox and Robert V. Wolf of the Center for Court Innovation about the role lawyers can play in addressing poverty and eviction, why New York City has been dramatically expanding funding to provide lawyers to respondents … Continue reading How Can Lawyers Help Address Poverty and Eviction? A Conversation with Law Professor Raymond Brescia →
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Nov 9, 2016
Houston’s SAFE Court Offers Victims of Human Trafficking a New Path
In this New Thinking podcast, Ann Johnson, an assistant district attorney and the human trafficking section chief with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, discusses her office’s strategies for combating human trafficking, including increased enforcement against traffickers and buyers, and diversion from prosecution for victims. One of the office’s diversion programs, SAFE Court, gives those … Continue reading Houston’s SAFE Court Offers Victims of Human Trafficking a New Path →
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Oct 25, 2016
Taking a Collaborative Approach to Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Justice System
Tshaka Barrows, deputy director of the Burns Institute, discusses his organization’s collaborative and community-centered approach to addressing and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system. Barrows spoke with Robert V. Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation, after participating in a panel on Race and Procedural Justice at Justice Innovations … Continue reading Taking a Collaborative Approach to Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Justice System →
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Oct 19, 2016
The Potential for Bias in Risk-Assessment Tools: A Conversation
In this New Thinking podcast, Reuben J. Miller, assistant professor of social work at the University of Michigan, and his research collaborator Hazelette Crosby-Robinson discuss some of the criticisms that have been leveled against risk assessment tools. Those criticisms include placing too much emphasis on geography and criminal history, which can distort the actual risk … Continue reading The Potential for Bias in Risk-Assessment Tools: A Conversation →
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Aug 30, 2016
Fairness, Procedural Justice, and Domestic Violence: A Conversation with Judge Jeffrey Kremers
In this New Thinking podcast, Judge Jeffrey Kremers of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court brings procedural justice to bear on domestic violence. Sharing his insights from the bench, Judge Kremers talks about the importance of procedural justice for both defendants and survivors as well as their families, and discusses strategies for addressing the unique challenges … Continue reading Fairness, Procedural Justice, and Domestic Violence: A Conversation with Judge Jeffrey Kremers →
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Aug 19, 2016
Foundations Can Support Justice Reform, If You Know How to Ask: A Conversation with James Lewis
Private foundations are an overlooked resource for innovative justice programs. James H. Lewis, senior program officer and director of research and evaluation at the Chicago Community Trust, offers insight into how foundations make funding decisions and shares tips for attracting foundation investments in justice programs. The interview was conducted by the Center for Court Innovation’s … Continue reading Foundations Can Support Justice Reform, If You Know How to Ask: A Conversation with James Lewis →
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Aug 9, 2016
Strengthening Ties Between Police and the Community: A Conversation about Restorative Justice in Madison, Wisconsin
Joe Balles, who recently retired as a captain after a 30-year career with the Madison (Wisconsin) Police Department, discusses restorative justice and police legitimacy with Robert V. Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. A mentee of Herman Goldstein, considered the father of problem-oriented policing, Balles was instrumental in the creation of … Continue reading Strengthening Ties Between Police and the Community: A Conversation about Restorative Justice in Madison, Wisconsin →
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Jul 12, 2016
A Second Chance Society: A Conversation about Justice Reform in Connecticut
Mike Lawlor, Connecticut’s under secretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, discusses Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s Second Chance Society, a series of justice reforms (including dramatic changes to bail and juvenile justice policies) that seek to reduce crime, lower spending on prisons, and help rebuild relationships between criminal justice professionals and the communities they serve. … Continue reading A Second Chance Society: A Conversation about Justice Reform in Connecticut →
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Jun 15, 2016
‘An Open and Inviting Court’: Judge Joe Perez of the Orange County Community Court Talks Procedural Justice
Joe Perez, the presiding judge of the Orange County Community Court, discusses how the principles of procedural justice inform both design and process in his courthouse. Perez is a lifelong resident of Orange County whose father was the first Spanish-speaking attorney and judge in the county. The interview with Robert V. Wolf, director of communications at … Continue reading ‘An Open and Inviting Court’: Judge Joe Perez of the Orange County Community Court Talks Procedural Justice →
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Jun 14, 2016
Jails as Psychiatric Facilities: Addressing Mental Illness in the Justice System with Judge Steve Leifman
Judge Steve Leifman, associate administrative judge of the Miami-Dade County Court Criminal Division and presiding judge of its Criminal Mental Health Project, has worked at the intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system in Miami-Date County for decades. In this podcast, he outlines the challenges of addressing the high occurence of mental illness in … Continue reading Jails as Psychiatric Facilities: Addressing Mental Illness in the Justice System with Judge Steve Leifman →
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Jun 7, 2016
‘My Partner, My Enemy’: New York State Judge John Leventhal
Judge John Leventhal is the author of “My Partner, My Enemy,” a book chronicling his experiences presiding over the Brooklyn Domestic Violence Court, the first felony domestic violence court in the nation. In this New Thinking podcast, Judge Leventhal discusses memorable cases from his tenure, the domestic violence court model, and why he felt it … Continue reading ‘My Partner, My Enemy’: New York State Judge John Leventhal →
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Jun 2, 2016
10 Years of Community Justice in Melbourne, Australia: An Interview with Kerry Walker
In this New Thinking podcast, Kerry Walker, director of the Neighbourhood Justice Centre in Melbourne, Australia, describes some of the ways the Justice Centre engages the community, all with the long-term goal of promoting the rule of law and a “civil, caring society.” She reflects on lessons learned as the Justice Centre approaches its 10th anniversary, … Continue reading 10 Years of Community Justice in Melbourne, Australia: An Interview with Kerry Walker →
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May 23, 2016
‘Invest in Your Participants’: Deborah Barrows of Community Partners in Action
On any given day, the Hartford Community Court sentences 35 to 40 people to perform community restitution as part of their sentences. Deborah Barrows has helped create the court’s robust community service program by harnessing relationships developed during her long career, including 28 years with the Hartford Police Department. In this New Thinking podcast, which was … Continue reading ‘Invest in Your Participants’: Deborah Barrows of Community Partners in Action →
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Apr 28, 2016
Reducing Violence Through Media Training and Cultural Awareness
This podcast is part of a series highlighting innovative approaches to reducing violence and improving health outcomes among at-risk minority youth at the nine demonstration sites of the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. One of these demonstrations sites is the Stand Up Participate program in Hennepin County, Minnesota, an initiative led by the community-based organization Asian Media … Continue reading Reducing Violence Through Media Training and Cultural Awareness →
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Apr 28, 2016
Prosecutors Explore New Solutions to Public Safety Concerns: A Conversation about the ‘Smart Prosecution Initiative’
The Bureau of Justice Assistance at U.S. Department of Justice created the Smart Prosecution Initiative to encourage prosecutors to explore new solutions to public safety problems. Grant recipients work with researchers to document outcomes and develop effective, economical, and innovative responses to crime. In this podcast, Denise O’Donnell, the director of the Bureau of Justice … Continue reading Prosecutors Explore New Solutions to Public Safety Concerns: A Conversation about the ‘Smart Prosecution Initiative’ →
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Apr 27, 2016
Sustainability Strategies for Youth Advisory Boards: A Podcast on Youth Engagement
This podcast presents highlights from Sustainable Strategies, a one-day event organized by the Center for Court Innovation and Coro New York Leadership Center in September 2015. Representatives from 11 organizations discussed successes, challenges, and strategies used to meaningfully engage young people and elevate their voices in policy discussions through youth advisory boards. Members of youth justice boards … Continue reading Sustainability Strategies for Youth Advisory Boards: A Podcast on Youth Engagement →
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Apr 20, 2016
A Trauma-informed Approach to Reducing Youth Violence
This podcast is part of a series highlighting innovative approaches to reducing violence and improving health outcomes among at-risk minority youth at the nine demonstration sites of the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. One of these demonstrations sites is the Children in Trauma Intervention, or CITI, program in Cincinnati, an anti-violence initiative led by the Cincinnati Police … Continue reading A Trauma-informed Approach to Reducing Youth Violence →
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Feb 28, 2016
Breaking the Cycle of Violence By Reaching Youth At School
This podcast is part of a series highlighting innovative approaches to reducing violence and improving health outcomes among at-risk minority youth at the nine demonstration sites of the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. One of these demonstrations sites is Youth Intercept, a hospital-based violence-prevention program in Chatham County, Georgia, that aims to break the cycle of youth … Continue reading Breaking the Cycle of Violence By Reaching Youth At School →
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Feb 10, 2016
The Strengths and Limitations of Risk Assessment: Professor Susan Turner of the University of California-Irvine
In this podcast recorded at the Courts, Community Engagement, and Innovative Practices in a Changing Landscape symposium held in Anaheim in December 2015, Susan Turner, professor in the department of Criminology, Law & Society at the University of California-Irvine, explains how risk assessment tools are developed and discusses the strengths and limitations of risk assessment. RAPHAEL POPE-SUSSMAN: This … Continue reading The Strengths and Limitations of Risk Assessment: Professor Susan Turner of the University of California-Irvine →
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Feb 3, 2016
‘Evidence-based Practices for Community Corrections’: San Diego County Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins
In this podcast recorded at the Courts, Community Engagement, and Innovative Practices in a Changing Landscape symposium held in Anaheim in December 2015, San Diego County Chief Probation Office Mack Jenkins discusses the importance of risk assessment and how his department uses evidence-based practices to tailor its responses to offenders on probation. The following is a transcript. Pope-Sussman: … Continue reading ‘Evidence-based Practices for Community Corrections’: San Diego County Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins →
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Jan 27, 2016
New Approaches in Indigent Defense
At Reinvesting in Justice, Wesley Shackleford, deputy director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, talks about indigent defense, procedural justice, and improving access to legal services for those who cannot afford it. AVNI MAJITHIA-SEJPAL: Hi. This is Avni Majithia-Sejpal and you’re listening to the New Thinking Podcast. I’m at the Dallas City Hall with Wesley … Continue reading New Approaches in Indigent Defense →
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Jan 20, 2016
Innovations in Pretrial Justice: The View from Denver
At Reinvesting in Justice, Aubree Cote, smart pretrial site coordinator for Denver, talks about the city’s reform efforts and what different states and jurisdictions can learn from each other regarding pretrial justice. AVNI MAJITHIA-SEJPAL: Hello and welcome to the New Thinking Podcast. This is Avni Majithia-Sejpal, and I am here in Dallas today talking to … Continue reading Innovations in Pretrial Justice: The View from Denver →
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Jan 13, 2016
Race, Data, and Procedural Justice: A Conversation with David Slayton
At Reinvesting in Justice, David Slayton, executive director of the Texas Office of Court Administration, talks about using data to implement procedural justice and address racial disparities in the justice system. The following is a transcript AVNI MAJITHIA-SEJPAL: Hello, this is Avni Majithia-Sejpal, and you’re listening to the New Thinking Podcast. Today I’m at … Continue reading Race, Data, and Procedural Justice: A Conversation with David Slayton →
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Jan 7, 2016
Improving Outcomes for Individuals with Co-occurring Disorders
At Reinvesting in Justice, Michael Young, chief public defender of Bexar County in Texas, talks about innovative programs to assist defendants with mental health challenges. The following is a transcript AVNI MAJITHIA-SEJPAL: Hello and welcome to the New Thinking podcast. This is Avni Majithia-Sejpal and I’m here in Dallas talking to Michael Young at the Reinvesting … Continue reading Improving Outcomes for Individuals with Co-occurring Disorders →
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Dec 30, 2015
‘Hammers Don’t Work’: Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods
In this podcast recorded at the Courts, Community Engagement, and Innovative Practices in a Changing Landscape symposium held in Anaheim in December 2015, Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods discusses diversion and the importance of giving low-level offenders the opportunity to avoid a criminal record. The following is a transcript RAPHAEL POPE-SUSSMAN: This is Raphael Pope-Sussman … Continue reading ‘Hammers Don’t Work’: Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods →
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Dec 16, 2015
The Neuroscience of Addiction and Pharmacological Treatment
At Reinvesting in Justice, Dr. Bryon Adinoff, Distinguished Professor of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Director of Research in Mental Health at the VA North Texas Health Care System, talks about the latest research on addiction and pharmacological or medication-assisted treatment, as well as how they … Continue reading The Neuroscience of Addiction and Pharmacological Treatment →
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Dec 10, 2015
With an Evidence-based Curriculum, Improving Outcomes for Minority Male Youth
This podcast is part of a series highlighting innovative approaches to reducing violence and improving health outcomes among at-risk minority youth at the nine demonstration sites of the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. One of these demonstrations sites is Cabarrus Students Taking a Right Stand (STARS), a school-based male youth leadership program based in Cabarrus County, North … Continue reading With an Evidence-based Curriculum, Improving Outcomes for Minority Male Youth →
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Dec 2, 2015
Working With Unlikely Allies: A Conversation With Marc Levin
At Reinvesting in Justice, Marc Levin, policy director of the Texas-based conservative group Right on Crime, talks about the need to work towards criminal justice reform with stakeholders from across the ideological spectrum, both in Texas and nationwide.
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Nov 18, 2015
A Policing Approach That Improves Health and Wellness of Youth
This podcast is part of a series highlighting innovative approaches to reducing violence and improving health outcomes among at-risk minority youth at the nine demonstration sites of the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. One of these demonstrations sites is Policing Approach Through Health, Wellness and Youth (PATHWAY) in West Palm Beach, Fla., an initiative led by the City … Continue reading A Policing Approach That Improves Health and Wellness of Youth →
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Nov 10, 2015
“They’re Not Talking About Me”: Race, Cultural Responsivity, and Domestic Violence
In this New Thinking podcast, Dr. Oliver Williams brings questions of race, faith, and incarceration into a conversation on domestic violence. Drawing on his work with both victims and perpetrators from African-American, Latina, and other immigrant and diasporic communities, Dr. Williams examines the import of cultural responsivity in the justice system’s response to domestic violence. This … Continue reading “They’re Not Talking About Me”: Race, Cultural Responsivity, and Domestic Violence →
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Nov 4, 2015
Red Hook Community Justice Center 15th Anniversary
This podcast covers the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Red Hook Community Justice Center, with highlights including speeches from New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, and honoree Stuart Gold, of Cravath, Swain, and Moore. The following is a transcript RAPHAEL POPE-SUSSMAN: Hi. This is Raphael Pope-Sussman of … Continue reading Red Hook Community Justice Center 15th Anniversary →
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Oct 22, 2015
Hospital-based Violence Intervention and a New Approach to Trauma
This podcast is part of a series highlighting innovative approaches to reducing violence and improving health outcomes among at-risk minority youth at the nine demonstration sites of the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. One of these demonstrations sites is the Youth ALIVE! anti-violence program in Oakland, Calif. Rafael Vasquez of Youth ALIVE!’s hospital-based violence intervention program, … Continue reading Hospital-based Violence Intervention and a New Approach to Trauma →
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Oct 2, 2015
Coming Home to Harlem: Understanding the Impact of a Reentry Court
Lama Hassoun Ayoub, researcher and co-author of Coming Home to Harlem, discusses the impact of the Harlem Parole Reentry Court on the lives of parolees returning to Harlem after incarceration. The following is a transcript AVNI MAJITHIA-SEJPAL: Hi. I’m Avni Majithia-Sejpal, Senior Writer at the Center for Court Innovation. In today’s New Thinking podcast we’re … Continue reading Coming Home to Harlem: Understanding the Impact of a Reentry Court →
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Sep 24, 2015
‘An Obligation To Solve Problems in the Community’: A Conversation With Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm
John Chisholm, district attorney of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, joins the New Thinking podcast to discuss community prosecution, diversion, and his work to reduce mass incarceration and racial inequities in the justice system.
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Aug 25, 2015
A Hospital-based Approach to Stopping Youth Violence
In this podcast, Anne Marks, executive director of the Youth ALIVE! hospital-based anti-violence program in Oakland, discusses the history and mission of Youth ALIVE!, its partnerships with local public health and law enforcement agencies, and how funding under the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative is increasing the organization’s capacity to serve high-risk minority youth. The … Continue reading A Hospital-based Approach to Stopping Youth Violence →
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Jul 23, 2015
Safer Tomorrows: The Grand Forks Defending Childhood Initiative
In this podcast, Kari Kerr and Kristi Hall-Jiran talk about Safer Tomorrows, Grand Forks, North Dakota’s Defending Childhood Initiative. Safer Tomorrows implemented universal violence prevention programming in public, private, and rural schools across Grand Forks County, beginning with pre-kindergarten and extending to high school. The initative is part of the Department of Justice’s Defending Childhood Demonstration Program, which funded … Continue reading Safer Tomorrows: The Grand Forks Defending Childhood Initiative →
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Jul 16, 2015
The Cuyahoga County Defending Childhood Initiative
Jill Smialek and Dr. Jeff Kretschmar discuss the Cuyahoga County Defending Childhood Initative, which seeks to address violence against children in one of the country’s most violent areas – Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Their unique approach includes the creation of an integrated, county-wide screening, assessment, and service system for children ages 0-18 who have experienced violence and trauma. The … Continue reading The Cuyahoga County Defending Childhood Initiative →
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Jun 26, 2015
The Defending Childhood Demonstration Project
In this podcast, Center for Court Innovation researchers Rachel Swaner, Lama Ayoub, and Elise Jensen discuss their National Institute of Justice funded report on the United States Department of Justice’s Defending Childhood Demonstration Program. The program, which began in 2010, funded eight pilot sites across the country to address children’s exposure to violence. The Center produced a series of reports on six … Continue reading The Defending Childhood Demonstration Project →
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Jun 12, 2015
Supervised Visitation: The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s Unique Approach
Katheryn Lotsos and Stephen Forrester from the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children discuss their organization’s approach to supervised visitation. Supervised visitation is frequently required by courts in child welfare or domestic violence cases and allows children to meet with non-custodial parents in a secure and controlled environment. The Society’s therapeutic model … Continue reading Supervised Visitation: The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s Unique Approach →
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Apr 17, 2015
Using Evidence-Based Assessment To Create Problem-Solving Interventions
Center for Court Innovation researcher Sarah Picard-Fritsche discusses the risk-need-responsivity model for working with offenders and the Center’s efforts to develop a screening tool for misdemeanor offenders. The following is a transcript Raphael: Hi. I’m Raphael Pope-Sussman at the Center for Court Innovation and in today’s podcast, we’re looking at risk-need assessment tools for … Continue reading Using Evidence-Based Assessment To Create Problem-Solving Interventions →
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Apr 3, 2015
Babies in the Child Welfare System to Get More Help in the Bronx, Along with Their Families
Dr. Susan Chinitz, a psychologist with specialties in the areas of infant mental health and developmental disabilities in infancy and early childhood, and a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses the new Strong Starts Court Initiative, which will enhance the capacity of Family Court to bring positive changes to … Continue reading Babies in the Child Welfare System to Get More Help in the Bronx, Along with Their Families →
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Mar 9, 2015
How Electronic Records Are Transforming The Justice System
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) The following is a transcript RAPHAEL POPE-SUSSMAN: Hi, I’m Raphael Pope Sussman of the Center for Court Innovation, and … Continue reading How Electronic Records Are Transforming The Justice System →
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Feb 17, 2015
Understanding Youth Violence: A Conversation with Dr. Joel Fein
At the kick-off summit for the Minority Youth Violence Prevention initiative, Dr. Joel Fein, a pediatrician and emergency medicine physician at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses youth relationships with authority, family dynamics, and how trauma and stress affect the developing brain. (February 2015)
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Jan 24, 2015
Criminal Justice at the Crossroads: Transforming Crime and Punishment
William R. Kelly, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Criminology and Criminal Justice Research at the University of Texas at Austin, discusses his new book, “Criminal Justice at the Crossroads: Transforming Crime and Punishment,” and the costs of mass incarceration. The following is a transcript RAPHAEL POPE-SUSSMAN: Hi. This is Raphael … Continue reading Criminal Justice at the Crossroads: Transforming Crime and Punishment →
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Jan 20, 2015
Hospital Seeks to Halt Violence Among Minority Youth
Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital in Binghamton, New York is working with community partners to develop a restorative, strength-based program that will divert high-risk youth from gang involvement as well as violent behavior. At the kick-off summit for the Minority Youth Violence Prevention initiative, Nancy Frank and Ralphalla Richardson discuss how they became interested … Continue reading Hospital Seeks to Halt Violence Among Minority Youth →
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Dec 2, 2014
To Help Teens Experiencing Dating Violence, Meet Young People Where They’re At
Some people mistakenly think that when teenagers experience intimate partner violence, it’s less serious than when adults experience it, explains Andrew Sta. Ana, supervising attorney of Day One, which seeks to end teen dating violence. “There’s this idea, ‘Oh, teen DV. That must mean domestic violence or intimate-partner violence ‘lite’… I think that what’s important … Continue reading To Help Teens Experiencing Dating Violence, Meet Young People Where They’re At →
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Sep 9, 2014
The International Rule of Law Movement: David Marshall on the Need for Reform
David Marshall, editor of The International Rule of Law Movement: A Crisis of Legitimacy and the Way Forward, discusses the international rule of law as an industry–one that has been promoted as offering solutions in post-conflict and fragile states and that too often fails. Marshall discusses some of the reasons for these failures and outlines some … Continue reading The International Rule of Law Movement: David Marshall on the Need for Reform →
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Aug 12, 2014
Community-Oriented Public Safety Strategies: A Conversation with Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell
Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell discusses how law enforcement leadership can promote new “smart” strategies–including community engagement and prevention-oriented diversion approaches–that can effectively and efficiently keep communities safe, address the symptoms and causes of criminal activity, and alleviate prison overcrowding. (August 2014) SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi, I’m Sarah Schweig of the Center for Court … Continue reading Community-Oriented Public Safety Strategies: A Conversation with Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell →
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Jul 15, 2014
Importing Innovation: the Challenges and Rewards of Transplanting a Program from One Nation to Another
Simon Fulford, chief executive of Khulisa U.K., explains how and why his not-for-profit brought a successful South African prisoner reentry program to the United Kingdom. SIMON FULFORD: You walk into an English prison, you’ve got a group of 10 young offenders. If you hand them anything more than one piece of paper, they would … Continue reading Importing Innovation: the Challenges and Rewards of Transplanting a Program from One Nation to Another →
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Jul 2, 2014
Los Angeles City Attorney Says Listening is Key to Developing Effective Community-Based Programming
In this New Thinking podcast, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer discusses his plans for community-based solutions to problems like truancy, gun violence, and prison overcrowding. (July 2014) MIKE FEUER: For leaders and for elected officials, speaking skills are highly overvalued relative to listening skills, which are frequently under-valued. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob … Continue reading Los Angeles City Attorney Says Listening is Key to Developing Effective Community-Based Programming →
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Jun 11, 2014
Rebuilding Trust in Government in a Country Recovering from Guerrilla Warfare
Miguel Samper Strouss, the vice-minister of criminal policy and restorative justice in the Colombian Ministry of Justice and Law, discusses the challenge of returning law and order–and trust in justice and government–to the rural regions of his country that have been devastated by 50 years of guerrilla fighting. (June 2014) MIGUEL SAMPER STROUSS: The only … Continue reading Rebuilding Trust in Government in a Country Recovering from Guerrilla Warfare →
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May 29, 2014
How Procedural Justice Strengthens the Public’s Willingness to Obey the Law
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) … Continue reading How Procedural Justice Strengthens the Public’s Willingness to Obey the Law →
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May 12, 2014
Minimizing the Collateral Consequences of a Conviction
Timothy C. Evans, chief judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois, explains how courts can help mitigate the collateral consequences of justice system involvement. Among other things, courts can reach out to those affected to educate them about their rights and options, Evans says in this New Thinking podcast. Chief Judge Timothy … Continue reading Minimizing the Collateral Consequences of a Conviction →
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May 7, 2014
Improving Outcomes by Assessing the Impact of Trauma on Offenders
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 … Continue reading Improving Outcomes by Assessing the Impact of Trauma on Offenders →
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May 6, 2014
Deploying Public Health Strategies to Address Drug Addiction
Drug addiction is fundamentally a public health issue, says Michael Botticelli, acting director of National Drug Control Policy, in this New Thinking podcast. Botticelli explains why law enforcement must work in tandem with public health to address addiction and how his own personal experience with addiction informs his work. In keynote remarks at Community Justice … Continue reading Deploying Public Health Strategies to Address Drug Addiction →
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May 2, 2014
Thoughtful Implementation is Essential for Evidence-based Practices to Succeed
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) Edward J. Latessa conducts a session on Evidence-Based Approaches to Alternatives to Incarceration at Community Justice 2014. ED LATESSA: I always tell people you know, … Continue reading Thoughtful Implementation is Essential for Evidence-based Practices to Succeed →
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Apr 30, 2014
After 5 Years, the San Francisco Community Justice Center Continues to Adapt
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) JUDGE BRADEN WOODS: This is a great assignment because every day I’m enthusiastic about going to work and trying … Continue reading After 5 Years, the San Francisco Community Justice Center Continues to Adapt →
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Apr 29, 2014
Evidence-based Practices, Reducing Unnecessary Incarceration are Priorities for Bureau of Justice Assistance
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. Denise O’Donnell, director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, delivers the keynote address at the opening of Community Justice 2014. (April 2014) … Continue reading Evidence-based Practices, Reducing Unnecessary Incarceration are Priorities for Bureau of Justice Assistance →
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Apr 2, 2014
Teenagers Learn about the Law as They Grapple with Cases of Bias & Bullying
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 … Continue reading Teenagers Learn about the Law as They Grapple with Cases of Bias & Bullying →
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Feb 28, 2014
Innovation on the Last Frontier: A Conversation about the Anchorage Mental Health 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. They co-authored “Homesteading a Pioneering Mental Health Court: A Judicial Perspective from … Continue reading Innovation on the Last Frontier: A Conversation about the Anchorage Mental Health Court →
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Feb 4, 2014
Mental Health and Juvenile Justice: A Discussion about QUEST Futures
QUEST Futures is a juvenile mental health initiative that seeks to establish a comprehensive, coordinated response to youth with mental illness involved in the juvenile justice system in Queens, New York. Here, researcher Josephine Hahn discusses the findings of an impact evaluation of the program. (February 2014) SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi, I’m Sarah Schweig, of the … Continue reading Mental Health and Juvenile Justice: A Discussion about QUEST Futures →
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Jan 2, 2014
Rapid Response is a Priority for Domestic Violence Court in Boise, Idaho
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 … Continue reading Rapid Response is a Priority for Domestic Violence Court in Boise, Idaho →
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Dec 6, 2013
The Harlem Justice Corps Combines Education with Community Service for Justice-Involved Young People
The Harlem Justice Corps is an intensive career development and service program for justice-involved young men and women. Project Manager Tai Alex explains how the initiative works, and participants Elijah Blount and Anthony Brown discuss what they’ve learned so far. [Opening music] ELIJAH BLOUNT: And I learned the seriousness of working because they say it’s … Continue reading The Harlem Justice Corps Combines Education with Community Service for Justice-Involved Young People →
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Nov 4, 2013
Community Court in Brooklyn Lowers Recidivism, Researchers Find
Cynthia G. Lee and David B. Rottman, researchers from the National Center for State Courts, discuss some of the key findings in their new report, A Community Court Grows in Brooklyn: A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Red Hook Community Justice Center. (November 2013) ROBERT V. WOLF: [Opening theme music] I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications … Continue reading Community Court in Brooklyn Lowers Recidivism, Researchers Find →
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Oct 25, 2013
Midtown Community Court Celebrates 20 Years of Problem-Solving Justice
The Center for Court Innovation celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Midtown Community Court with speeches by New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, Center for Court Innovation Director Greg Berman, and others. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. Tonight I’m at the Morgan Library … Continue reading Midtown Community Court Celebrates 20 Years of Problem-Solving Justice →
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Oct 3, 2013
Information Technology & Social Services: Tracking Clients, Treatment, and Compliance
Andree Mattix, director of social services at Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, discusses how a customized technology application helps her staff track data and clients in the D.A.’s diversion, victim-witness, and domestic violence programs. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation, and today’s New Thinking podcast … Continue reading Information Technology & Social Services: Tracking Clients, Treatment, and Compliance →
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Sep 13, 2013
Addressing Domestic Violence in Guam: a Judge’s Perspective
Judge Michael Bordallo of the Family Violence Court in Guam discusses his specialized court, including challenges and opportunities faced by the court and stakeholders. The judge also offers a unique perspective on responding to domestic violence in an island community. (September 2013) KATIE CRANK: Hi, this is Katie Crank, from the Center for Court Innovation’s … Continue reading Addressing Domestic Violence in Guam: a Judge’s Perspective →
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Jul 9, 2013
Experts at Your Fingertips: The National Drug Court Online Learning System
The National Drug Court Online Learning System at www.drugcourtline.org offers free training modules on a wide range of topics by national experts. In this podcast, Valerie Raine and Dennis Reilly, both of the Center for Court Innovation, explain how drug courts can use the system to educate new employees and keep their teams up to … Continue reading Experts at Your Fingertips: The National Drug Court Online Learning System →
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Jul 2, 2013
A View of Domestic Violence from the Judge’s Bench
Chief Magistrate Judge Berryl Anderson of DeKalb County, Georgia discusses the lessons she has learned over the course of 21 years as an attorney and 13 years as a judge about working with victims of domestic violence and improving the justice system’s response to intimate partner violence. July 2013 SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi, I’m Sarah Schweig, and today … Continue reading A View of Domestic Violence from the Judge’s Bench →
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Jun 18, 2013
Adolescent Diversion Program in NY: Researchers Discuss First-Year Impacts
Co-authors Michael Rempel and Suvi Hynynen Lambson discuss the findings of their study, The Adolescent Diversion Program: A First Year Evaluation of Alternatives to Conventional Case Processing for Defendants Ages 16 and 17 in New York. The study examines the Adolescent Diversion Program, finding that diverting youth to services does not increase recidivism rates and, in … Continue reading Adolescent Diversion Program in NY: Researchers Discuss First-Year Impacts →
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Jun 5, 2013
Domestic Violence and Child Custody: A 4-Part Model for Helping Judges Make More Informed Decisions
Family Court judges should consider the impact of violence on families when making decisions about child custody and visitation, according to Kristine Lizdas, a managing attorney at the Battered Women’s Justice Project. In this podcast, Lizdas discusses the Justice Project’s four-part model for helping judges make more informed decisions. Kristine Lizdas, left, of the Battered … Continue reading Domestic Violence and Child Custody: A 4-Part Model for Helping Judges Make More Informed Decisions →
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May 22, 2013
After Rockefeller: Research Findings on the Statewide Impact of Judicial Diversion
Shannon M. Carey of NPC Research discusses the impact of the Rockefeller Drug Law Reform, which in 2009 eliminated New York’s mandatory prison sentences for most felony drug offenders. According to a study she co-authored, court-ordered treatment enrollment after the reform was implemented in 2009 increased by 77 percent. Also, the study estimated that there … Continue reading After Rockefeller: Research Findings on the Statewide Impact of Judicial Diversion →
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May 13, 2013
Welcome to Problem Solving: Kelly O’Neill Levy Embraces Her New Assignment as Presiding Judge of the Harlem Community
Justice Center
Acting Supreme Court Judge Kelly O’Neill Levy discusses her transition from Bronx Family Court to the Harlem Community Justice Center, where she applies problem-solving strategies to both family and housing cases. May 2013 Judge Kelly O’Neill Levy discusses a case with her law clerk and resource coordinator. JUDGE KELLY O’NEILL LEVY: Always remember that the … Continue reading Welcome to Problem Solving: Kelly O’Neill Levy Embraces Her New Assignment as Presiding Judge of the Harlem Community
Justice Center →
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Apr 15, 2013
Studying Reentry: A Conversation about Research and Reentry Courts
Christine H. Lindquist, a senior research sociologist at RTI International, talks about reentry courts, recidivism, and what she’s learned so far from a multi-year study funded by the US Department of Justice. April 2013 CHRISTINE LINDQUIST: Reentry courts really have a talent in terms of delivering all of the needed services to a diverse population. … Continue reading Studying Reentry: A Conversation about Research and Reentry Courts →
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Mar 29, 2013
Innovation Down Under: Director of New Centre Explains What Justice Innovation Looks Like In Australia
Tania Sourdin, a professor of law and dispute resolution at Monash University in Melbourne, explains how the Australian Centre for Justice Innovation, which she directs, supports reform through research and experimental projects.
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Jan 16, 2013
Changes ‘That Don’t Roll Back’: Using Technology to Institutionalize Innovation
Kevin G. Kelly, deputy commissioner of NYC Business Customer Service in the New York City Mayor’s Office, discusses how the city uses technology to improve efficiency and radically restructure how businesses interact with government. January 2013 KEVIN KELLY: Create a new operating normal so that there is no other way to do it. And that’s … Continue reading Changes ‘That Don’t Roll Back’: Using Technology to Institutionalize Innovation →
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Jan 15, 2013
Testing a Public Health Approach to Gun Violence: A conversation on new research
Authors of new research about gun violence in Brooklyn, New York, Sarah Picard-Fritsche and Lenore Cerniglia discuss findings on Save Our Streets (SOS) Crown Heights, an approach to gun violence prevention in the Crown Heights neighborhood. The new report, “Testing a Public Health Approach to Gun Violence,” details a comprehensive impact and process evaluation of Save … Continue reading Testing a Public Health Approach to Gun Violence: A conversation on new research →
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Nov 23, 2012
Child or Adult? Adolescent Diversion Program Says ‘Child’ is Right Answer
Judge Joseph Gubbay, who presides over one of nine pilot sites of the Adolescent Diversion Program, explains how the initiative is expanding the justice system’s options for dealing with 16- and 17-year-old defendants, who are currently treated under New York law as adults, even for non-violent offenses. Kings County (N.Y.) Justice Joseph Gubbay presides over the … Continue reading Child or Adult? Adolescent Diversion Program Says ‘Child’ is Right Answer →
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Nov 17, 2012
Lessons from London: Improving Probation on Both Sides of the Atlantic
While on a visit to observe practices in New York City, Heather Munro, the chief executive of the London Probation Trust, takes a break to discuss the challenges facing probation in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom and new initiatives, including experiments in England and Wales with high-intensity community sentence projects (which is also … Continue reading Lessons from London: Improving Probation on Both Sides of the Atlantic →
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Nov 9, 2012
Payback with a Purpose
Phil Bowen, co-author of Payback with a Purpose and director of the Centre for Justice Innovation in the U.K., discusses what good “community payback” (“community service” in the U.S.) should look like, comparing the experience in the U.K. with New York City. The debate about what community payback ought to be comes at a crucial time for probation services in … Continue reading Payback with a Purpose →
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Oct 23, 2012
Taking Responsibility: A Conversation on Restorative Justice and Youth
Dr. Mara Schiff, an associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University, focuses her work on restorative justice, community justice, and juvenile justice. Here, she gives on overview of restorative practices and discusses why a restorative approach can be particularly valuable for youth. October 2012 SARAH SCHWEIG: I’m Sarah … Continue reading Taking Responsibility: A Conversation on Restorative Justice and Youth →
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Oct 1, 2012
Beyond Fighting Crime, Police in a Minnesota Town Seek to Foster a Sense of Community
Under Chief Michael A. Davis, the police officers of Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul, pursue community building. ROB WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, Director of Communication at the Center for Court Innovation. This New Thinking podcast is focused on policing and the ideas of community building and police legitimacy. On the phone … Continue reading Beyond Fighting Crime, Police in a Minnesota Town Seek to Foster a Sense of Community →
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Aug 28, 2012
Officials Announce Funding for the Brownsville Anti-Violence Project
A multi-faceted partnership to lower violence in one of Brooklyn’s most beleaguered neighborhoods gets a major boost with the announcement of $599,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Justice. Among those speaking at a press conference to announce the grant are Denise E. O’Donnell, director of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, New York … Continue reading Officials Announce Funding for the Brownsville Anti-Violence Project →
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Aug 16, 2012
Improving Youth Programming: The Role of Research
Angela Irvine, director of research in the Criminal Justice Division of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, sat down for this podcast interview after participating in a research roundtable on youth courts that was sponsored by the Center for Court Innovation and the Lowenstein Family Foundation on July 18, 2012. Irvine also discusses research … Continue reading Improving Youth Programming: The Role of Research →
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Aug 10, 2012
Parent Support Program Helps Repair Parent-Child Relationships
The graduation of seven fathers serves as a jumping off point for Liberty Aldrich, director of the Center for Court Innovation’s family and domestic violence programming, to discuss the Kings County Parent Support Program, which links non-custodial parents with needed services to increase child support payments and maintain healthy parent-child relationships. ROBERT V. WOLF: … Continue reading Parent Support Program Helps Repair Parent-Child Relationships →
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Jul 23, 2012
Lacking U.S. Citizenship, Some Survivors of Domestic Violence Face Extra Challenges
Gail Pendleton, co-director of ASISTA, which advises and trains advocates and attorneys who work with immigrant survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, discusses some of the complex issues non-citizen survivors face. July 2012 SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi, I’m Sarah Schweig at the Center for Court Innovation and today I’m speaking with Gail Pendleton about how issues … Continue reading Lacking U.S. Citizenship, Some Survivors of Domestic Violence Face Extra Challenges →
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Jul 9, 2012
Can Batterers be Rehabilitated?
David Adams, co-founder and co-director of Emerge, the first counseling program in the nation for men who abuse women, discusses the inner workings, challenges, and potential benefits of group counseling for men who batter. (July 2012) SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi, I’m Sarah Schweig, of the Center for Court Innovation, and today I’m speaking with Dr. David Adams. … Continue reading Can Batterers be Rehabilitated? →
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Jul 6, 2012
‘Each One’s a Success When They Walk Through That Door’: Creating and Sustaining a Tribal Peacemaking
Program
Peacemaker Administrator Anna Francis-Jack discusses tribal history and how The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington State have launched and grown their peacemaking program. May 2012 ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. During a visit to the Colville tribes in Washington State, … Continue reading ‘Each One’s a Success When They Walk Through That Door’: Creating and Sustaining a Tribal Peacemaking
Program →
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Jun 21, 2012
Peacemaking: How Native American Elders Use Tradition to Support Offender Reintegration
During a visit by the Tribal Justice Exchange to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington State, Robert V. Wolf talks with two elders–Matthew Dick Jr. and Darlene Wilder–and a client about peacemaking, a traditional Native American approach to resolving both criminal and civil issues. May 2012 ROB WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, … Continue reading Peacemaking: How Native American Elders Use Tradition to Support Offender Reintegration →
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Mar 28, 2012
Lessons from Australia: What Researchers Have Learned about the Melbourne Neighbourhood Justice Centre
Mark Halsey of Flinders University Law School discusses key findings of an evaluation of Australia’s first community court. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation and I’m in Washington D.C. at Community Justice 2012. I’m speaking with Mark Halsey. He’s a professor of criminal justice … Continue reading Lessons from Australia: What Researchers Have Learned about the Melbourne Neighbourhood Justice Centre →
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Mar 21, 2012
The Architecture of Collaboration: A New Courthouse in Colorado has Cooperation in Mind
A new building in Milliken, Colorado, houses a community court, police station and social services in an effort to foster collaboration among agencies and be more user-friendly for both the public and staff. Jim Burack, town administrator and chief of police, discusses the logic behind the building’s design. The following is a transcript of the … Continue reading The Architecture of Collaboration: A New Courthouse in Colorado has Cooperation in Mind →
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Mar 14, 2012
Sustaining Community Courts: What Makes a Program Attractive to Potential Funders?
Burke Fitzpatrick administers the Office of Justice Programs in South Carolina’s Department of Public Safety, which distributes federal justice dollars to programs in the state. In this interview, he explains why he thinks problem-solving courts have been a good investment and what he looks for in a funding application. The following is a transcript of … Continue reading Sustaining Community Courts: What Makes a Program Attractive to Potential Funders? →
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Mar 7, 2012
In Vancouver, Offenders Find Community Service is a Two-Way Street
Crown Counsel Adam Dalrymple explains how the Downtown Vancouver Community Court uses community service assignments to match offenders with organizations that address their social service needs. The following is a transcript of the interview. ROBERT V. WOLF: Is it possible to punish an offender and help them at the same time? The Downtown Vancouver Community … Continue reading In Vancouver, Offenders Find Community Service is a Two-Way Street →
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Feb 29, 2012
Breaking the Cycle: A Canadian Province Explores an Integrated Approach to Addressing Offenders’ Underlying Problems
Kurt Sandstrom, assistant deputy minister of Alberta Justice in Alberta, Canada discusses his province’s efforts to break cycles of offending with integrated, evidence-based services. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, Director of Communications at the Center for Court Innovation and I am at Community Justice 2012 at the end of January in Washington, D.C. … Continue reading Breaking the Cycle: A Canadian Province Explores an Integrated Approach to Addressing Offenders’ Underlying Problems →
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Feb 17, 2012
Connections Among People: Tracking and Preventing Violence through Social Network Analysis
Sociologist Andrew Papachristos focuses his studies on urban neighborhoods, social networks, street gangs, violent crime, and gun violence. A Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at Harvard University, Papachristos discusses how social network analysis can aid crime prevention. SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi, I’m Sarah Schweig at the Center for Court Innovation, and today I’m speaking … Continue reading Connections Among People: Tracking and Preventing Violence through Social Network Analysis →
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Feb 17, 2012
A Community Court Takes Washington D.C.: Expanding the Model in the Nation’s Capital
Dan Cipullo, director of the Criminal Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, discusses why and how the court expanded its community court approach from one neighborhood to cover the entire city. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation and I am in … Continue reading A Community Court Takes Washington D.C.: Expanding the Model in the Nation’s Capital →
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Feb 5, 2012
‘Victims, Not Perpetrators’: Ohio’s Changing Actions To Change Habits Court
Judge Paul M. Herbert of the Changing Actions To Change Habits Court in Ohio’s Franklin County Municipal Court explains how a problem-solving approach to prostitution treats offenders as victims, giving them the support and links to social services they need to escape a cycle of exploitation and abuse.
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Dec 21, 2011
Changing Perceptions: A Conversation on Prostitution Diversion with Judge Fernando Camacho
Queens County (NY) Judge Fernando Camacho discusses why he created a prostitution diversion court that helps victims leave a life of prostitution by linking them to counseling and social services instead of sentencing them to jail time. SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi, I’m Sarah Schweig of the Center for Court Innovation, and today I’m speaking with Judge Fernando Camacho. … Continue reading Changing Perceptions: A Conversation on Prostitution Diversion with Judge Fernando Camacho →
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Oct 5, 2011
Celebrating 15 Years of Reform: NYC Mayor Bloomberg and Others Reflect on the Center’s Achievements
The Center for Court Innovation celebrated its 15th anniversary on Oct. 4, 2011 at the Chelsea Art Museum with the help of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, Center Director Greg Berman, and Mayoral Advisor John Feinblatt, who was the evening’s honoree. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. I’m Rob Wolf, director of … Continue reading Celebrating 15 Years of Reform: NYC Mayor Bloomberg and Others Reflect on the Center’s Achievements →
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Sep 29, 2011
Involved Communities Support Vermont’s Restorative Justice Panels
Yvonne Byrd, director of the Montpelier Community Justice Center, Karen Vastine, the community justice coordinator in Burlington, and Marc Wennberg, director of the St. Alban’s Community Justice Center, explain how volunteers help craft restorative responses to crime and conflict in Vermont. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for … Continue reading Involved Communities Support Vermont’s Restorative Justice Panels →
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Sep 2, 2011
The Evolution of a Prosecutor: Early Intervention Improves Safety and Saves Money
T.J. Donovan, the state’s attorney for Chittenden County, explains a new initiative in Burlington, Vermont, that mandates community restitution and participation in social services as alternatives to court or incarceration. ROBERT V. WOLF: I’m Rob Wolf, director of Communications at the Center for Court Innovation and I’m here with T.J. Donovan, the state’s attorney of … Continue reading The Evolution of a Prosecutor: Early Intervention Improves Safety and Saves Money →
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Sep 1, 2011
Military Families: How Courts and Communities Can Offer Support
Barbara Thompson, director of the Department of Defense’s Office of Family Policy/Children and Youth, discusses the impacts that prolonged deployment of a parent or sibling can have on children. This is one of three podcasts produced in collaboration with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi, I’m Sarah Schweig of the … Continue reading Military Families: How Courts and Communities Can Offer Support →
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Aug 18, 2011
Elder Abuse: Looking for Effective Responses
Judge John Leventhal of the New York Appellate Division and attorney Jennifer White of Futures without Violence describe the misconceptions people have about the elderly as both victims and perpetrators of crime. This is one of three podcasts produced in collaboration with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. ROBERT V. WOLF: … Continue reading Elder Abuse: Looking for Effective Responses →
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Aug 17, 2011
Tribal Courts and Families: Native American Sovereignty and the Indian Child Welfare Act
Theresa Pouley of the Tulalip Tribal Court, Michael Petoskey of the Pokagan Band of Potawatomi Indians, and William A. Thorne Jr., a Pomo/Coast Miwok Indian appointed to the Utah Court of Appeals, discuss the advantages of transferring child welfare cases from state to tribal jurisdiction. This is one of three podcasts produced in collaboration with … Continue reading Tribal Courts and Families: Native American Sovereignty and the Indian Child Welfare Act →
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Aug 12, 2011
A Community Process: Strategies to Improve the Response to Domestic Violence
Jim Henderson, a trainer and lecturer on domestic violence, discusses probation group conferencing, motivational interview techniques, and the importance of community collaboration. SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi. I’m Sarah Schweig at the Center for Court Innovation and today I’m speaking with Jim Henderson. Jim provides technical assistance as a trainer and lecturer to courts, probation offices, and … Continue reading A Community Process: Strategies to Improve the Response to Domestic Violence →
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Jun 1, 2011
Privileged Work: A Conversation about Victim Advocacy
Robyn Wiktorski-Reynolds, the advocate program coordinator for Crisis Services in Buffalo, New York, has worked in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault for 12 years. Here she discusses the collaborative nature of victim advocacy work. SARAH SCHWEIG: Hi. I’m Sarah Schweig of the Center for Court Innovation, and today I’m speaking with Robyn Wiktorski-Reynolds. Robyn is … Continue reading Privileged Work: A Conversation about Victim Advocacy →
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May 18, 2011
With 11 Questions, Officers Assess Homicide Risk
David M. Sargent of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence has taught thousands of law enforcement officers how to implement the Lethality Assessment Program, which uses a short survey to assess victims’ risk of being killed and a simple protocol to encourage them to get help. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of … Continue reading With 11 Questions, Officers Assess Homicide Risk →
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May 9, 2011
An Outsider’s Perspective on an Inside Job
New York City Commissioner of Probation Vincent N. Schiraldi, who previously ran the juvenile justice system in Washington D.C., describes his journey from gadfly to government insider and the reforms he’s been implementing along the way. ROBERT V. WOLF: This is Rob Wolf, director of communications for the Center for Court Innovation, and today I’m … Continue reading An Outsider’s Perspective on an Inside Job →
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Apr 27, 2011
Solving and Preventing Homicides through Collaboration
Mallory O’Brien, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute at Duke University, describes how the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission brings together law enforcement and public health to solve individual homicides. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation, and today I’m speaking with Mallory O’Brien who’s the … Continue reading Solving and Preventing Homicides through Collaboration →
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Mar 11, 2011
What Can Law Enforcement Learn from Public Health?
Anthony Iton of the California Endowment talks about the public health approach to crime and safety problems. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, the director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation and I’m in Los Angeles today with Tony Iton, who is the senior vice president of Healthy Communities, which is an … Continue reading What Can Law Enforcement Learn from Public Health? →
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Jan 12, 2011
What Victims Really Need: A Conversation with Author and Victim Advocate Susan Herman
Susan Herman, who served for seven years as the executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, talks about her book Parallel Justice for Victims of Crime. The following is a transcript ROB WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. Welcome to another New Thinking podcast. … Continue reading What Victims Really Need: A Conversation with Author and Victim Advocate Susan Herman →
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Dec 22, 2010
Problem-Solving Justice in Indian Country: The Navajo Nation Plans a Pilot Community Court
Court Administrator Susie Martin and Chief Probation Officer Lucinda Yellowhair explain how the Navajo Nation’s pilot community court will draw on their culture’s traditional restorative justice principles. The following is a transcript. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. The Navajo Nation covers 27,000 square miles … Continue reading Problem-Solving Justice in Indian Country: The Navajo Nation Plans a Pilot Community Court →
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Nov 1, 2010
Dallas Community Courts Make Cleaner, Safer Streets a Top Priority
Dianne Gibson, the manager of the community courts in Dallas, Texas, explains how the South Dallas Community Court uses a combination of partnership and problem-solving to link homeless with services while eliminating neighborhood eyesores. ROBERT V. WOLF: This is Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. I’m recently back from Dallas … Continue reading Dallas Community Courts Make Cleaner, Safer Streets a Top Priority →
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Jul 30, 2010
David Kennedy: Innovating New Approaches to Justice (Part II)
Professor David Kennedy, the director of the Center for Crime Prevention & Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, shares some of what he’s learned about new approaches to addressing gang violence and open-air drug dealing. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. This month’s … Continue reading David Kennedy: Innovating New Approaches to Justice (Part II) →
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Jun 30, 2010
David Kennedy: The Story behind the Drug Market Initiative (Part I)
Professor David Kennedy, the director of the Center for Crime Prevention & Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, explains how the Boston Gun Project laid the groundwork for the Drug Market Initiative pilot in High Point, N.C. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. … Continue reading David Kennedy: The Story behind the Drug Market Initiative (Part I) →
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Jun 7, 2010
Red Hook Community Justice Center Marks its 10-Year Anniversary
This podcast includes observations from the presiding judge, Alex Calabrese, and short interviews by Director of Communications Robert V. Wolf with the Brooklyn D.A.’s Chief Assistant District Attorney Anne Swern and Captain Kenneth Corey, commander of the 76th Precinct. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. … Continue reading Red Hook Community Justice Center Marks its 10-Year Anniversary →
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Apr 8, 2010
Confronting Gender Violence in Afghanistan
Kristine Herman of the Center for Court Innovation spent three months in Afghanistan helping the attorney general establish the nation’s first unit dedicated to prosecuting cases of violence against women. She spoke with the Center’s Director of Communications Robert V. Wolf about her experience. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. I’m Rob Wolf, Director of Communications at … Continue reading Confronting Gender Violence in Afghanistan →
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Mar 1, 2010
Addressing Crime and Conflict in Baltimore through Community Conferencing
Lauren Abramson explains how the Community Conferencing Center, which she founded and leads, provides communities with the structure and support they need to address certain crimes and conflicts on their own.
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Mar 1, 2010
Manhattan’s New District Attorney Supports Reentry Initiatives
District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., following his keynote address at a Harlem Parole Reentry Court graduation, answers questions about reentry, crime prevention, and community prosecution. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, I’m Rob Wolf, director of Communications at the Center for Court Innovation. This is New Thinking, a podcast about innovations in justice. At the beginning of … Continue reading Manhattan’s New District Attorney Supports Reentry Initiatives →
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Dec 15, 2009
Shutting Drug Markets in High Point, North Carolina
Gretta Bush and Bobby Davis of High Point Community Against Violence explain how the Drug Market Initiative–a program developed by David Kennedy of John Jay College of Criminal Justice–offers a sustainable and effective strategy for ending the violence associated with open-air drug markets. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi, this is Rob Wolf, director of communications at … Continue reading Shutting Drug Markets in High Point, North Carolina →
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Nov 2, 2009
Will Prison Overcrowding in California Inspire Positive Change?
Joan Petersilia, a law professor at Stanford University explains what ex-prisoners need to successfully reintegrate into society, and how California’s correction system–once a national model–lost its way. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. I’m Rob Wolf, and welcome to “New Thinking,” a podcast produced by the Center for Court Innovation. Today I’m talking to Joan Petersilia, a … Continue reading Will Prison Overcrowding in California Inspire Positive Change? →
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Oct 9, 2009
Giving the Community a Role in Corrections
Derek Miodownik, restorative systems administrator for the Vermont Department of Corrections, talks about the state’s innovative experiments in community and restorative justice, including Citizen Reparative Boards, which give panels of community members a role in working with misdemeanor offenders, and Circles of Support and Accountability, which link community members with parolees convicted of serious crimes. … Continue reading Giving the Community a Role in Corrections →
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Sep 14, 2009
Harry Belafonte Congratulates Harlem Reentry Court Graduates
Legendary entertainer Harry Belafonte congratulates graduates of the Harlem Parole Reentry Court for satisfying the program’s rigorous requirements. ROBERT V. WOLF: The 10th graduation of the Harlem Parole Reentry Court featured a special guest. HARRY BELAFONTE: I was born in Harlem. I grew up in Harlem. I’m in my 82nd year of life and I’m … Continue reading Harry Belafonte Congratulates Harlem Reentry Court Graduates →
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Jul 30, 2009
Drug Courts: Past, Present, Future
West Huddleston, CEO of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, talks about his group’s new web site, why the nation’s 2,300-plus drug courts reach only 10 percent of the people they’re designed to help, and what’s next on the horizon for the drug court movement. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. My name is Rob Wolf … Continue reading Drug Courts: Past, Present, Future →
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Jun 23, 2009
The Challenges of Differentiating among Domestic Violence Offenders
Ronald B. Adrine, the administrative and presiding judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court talks about differentiating between defendants who are habitual batterers and defendants who are one-time perpetrators (such as those acting in self defense). ROBERT V. WOLF: How, I’m Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. Today I’m speaking with … Continue reading The Challenges of Differentiating among Domestic Violence Offenders →
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May 26, 2009
Herb Sturz Works Behind the Scenes to Spark Innovation
Herb Sturz–the subject of a new book, A Kind of Genius, by New York Times reporter Sam Roberts–talks about innovation, the power of private-public collaborations, the founding of the Midtown Community Court, and his current work at the Open Society Institute. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. This is Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center … Continue reading Herb Sturz Works Behind the Scenes to Spark Innovation →
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Apr 8, 2009
Community Policing and Community Courts
After visiting the Harlem Community Justice Center, Katherine McQuay and Zoe Mentel of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) talk about reentry, community policing, and the stimulus package. ROBERT V. WOLF: This is Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation. Welcome to another New Thinking … Continue reading Community Policing and Community Courts →
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