New Thinking, a Center for Court Innovation Podcast
Summary: The Center for Court Innovation is a non-profit think tank based in New York that helps the justice system aid victims, reduce crime, and improve public trust in justice. Every day, the Center works with people who are making a difference on the ground--police chiefs testing new approaches to local crime, prosecutors experimenting with alternative sanctions, judges looking for new solutions to complex problems. NEW THINKING introduces listeners to the best and the brightest in the field: practitioners and academics who are spearheading meaningful justice reforms across the country and around the globe.
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- Artist: Center for Court Innovation
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Podcasts:
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 explains on our New Thinking podcast, the ideas tested generally come from practitioners, or even clients, inside the systems themselves.
On our 'New Thinking' podcast, 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.
As part of our podcast 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.
On our New Thinking podcast, 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.
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.
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.
On our 'New Thinking' podcast, hear from Greg Berman and Julian Adler, the co-authors of our book from the New Press, Start Here: A Road Map to Reducing Mass Incarceration.
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.
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.
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.
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 expected to have on tenants confronting landlords in Housing Court (the latter almost always represented by lawyers). Hosting this episode of New Thinking are Ignacio Jaureguilorda, director of Poverty Justice Solutions, our program that seeks to close the justice gap in Housing Court, and Robert V. Wolf, the Center for Court Innovation's director of communications.
New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., and Judge Verna Saunders of the Harlem Community Justice Center celebrate the return to the community of participants in the Harlem Parole Reentry Court. In their remarks at a ceremony for program graduates, the speakers also highlight the value of reentry programs in helping the formerly incarcerated make successful transitions from prison to freedom.
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 courts since the program's founding, trying to build a relationship that is more collaborative than adversarial. As Laura Jones, manager, and Mary Laskowski, services and outreach coordinator, explain to New Thinking host Robert V. Wolf, this collaborative approach has allowed CourtWatch to support judges and court administrators in efforts to improve the court experience for everyone. This podcast was supported by Grant No. 2015-TA-AX-K023 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
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. With influential leaders, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, in agreement, the next question is: Where do we go from here? Matthew 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, and the steps needed to carry out its recommendations. We also hear a range of activists and reformers react to the pledge to close the troubled jail facility.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reintegration Program provides intensive case management and reentry services to tribal members returning to the community from incarceration. The program provides financial assistance for basic needs such as housing, clothing, and groceries, and offers long-term support through educational, vocational, and legal services. This video introduces viewers to the program through interviews with clients, staff and the numerous partners--like prison and court officials--that have allowed the program to help hundreds of clients make successful transitions from prison to home.
