New Thinking, a Center for Court Innovation Podcast

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.

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 would be a potential $2 of newly available resources after five years for every taxpayer dollar invested. May 2013

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.

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

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.

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

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 Our Streets, which is based on the Cure Violence model that treats outbreaks of violence like epidemics of disease. Additional Resources To download a Q & A with the authors, click here. To read a press release about the findings, click here.

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 Brooklyn pilot of the Adolescent Diversion Program.

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 the subject of a monograph by Centre for Justice Innovation's director Phil Bowen). November 2012 Judge Joseph Gubbay welcomes observers, including Chief Executive Heather Munro of the London Probation Trust, into his courtroom in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

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 England and Wales, where the Government is committed to encouraging non-state organizations to provide community payback.

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

Under Chief Michael A. Davis, the police officers of Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul, pursue community building.

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 City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch, and Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes. September 2012

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 into lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender justice-involved youth.

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.