What would it look like for courts to respond to trauma with care and compassion?
Most people in the criminal justice system have experienced some form of trauma. According to some estimates, more than 90 percent of incarcerated people have suffered from traumatic experiences, often starting in childhood. Yet contact with the justice system—getting arrested, going to court, or spending time in jail or prison—can traumatize people further and lead to a vicious cycle.
What if courts could respond to that trauma with care and compassion? Many specialty courts—like ones for people struggling with mental illness or substance use issues—have taken up that task, adopting new ways of delivering justice that respect the difficult histories many people carry with them into the courtroom. But far from being a fringe issue, trauma is everywhere in the legal system—and all of our criminal courts should reflect that.
That’s why the Center’s Office of National Initiatives has been working with courts across the country to help them better support people dealing with trauma and prevent further harm. After extensive work surveying courts in 20 different states, interviewing practitioners, and hosting a symposium in Denver, the team created a blueprint for bringing a trauma-informed lens into criminal courts.
Trauma can result from many kinds of experiences, from a single life-threatening incident like a car accident to repeated exposure to violence. Yet the effects of trauma aren’t always easy to recognize. For some people, complex traumatic experiences can lead to difficulty managing emotions and show up in the form of outbursts, hypervigilance, and mood swings. In a setting like the courtroom, responses like these can easily be misread as signs of hostility and met with punishment instead of support.
How courts can respond with care
Recognizing the signs of trauma is the first step to responding with care. To do that, court staff need comprehensive training on the effects of trauma, its prevalence in the legal system, and how it can show up differently across individuals and cultures.
When they’re better informed about the impacts of traumatic experiences, court staff can take steps to break the cycle of harm and foster a more supportive, healing environment for people coming into the justice system. Our new blueprint offers concrete tips for better responding to trauma at every stage of the legal process—from providing transportation to reduce the burden people face in showing up to court, to limiting the number of times people are asked to talk about difficult experiences.
Another way to reduce the risks of more trauma is by creating pathways out of the traditional legal process and into community-based care. Some initiatives, like Los Angeles County’s LEAD program, allow law enforcement to refer people struggling with mental health and substance use needs to resources in their community instead of the typical route of arrest and prosecution. Others, like our Manhattan Justice Opportunities program, give people a chance to avoid incarceration and build more stable lives by completing individualized services. These programs can help people address the underlying problems that brought them into the system in a supportive, neighborhood-based setting where they feel safe.
Trauma can also be present for another group within the court system: court practitioners themselves. Burnout and vicarious trauma amongst judges, attorneys, clerks, and court officers is common, with one study showing 63% reported symptoms of work-related vicarious trauma. Working in high-stress environments with close proximity to violence, especially when practitioners may be coming to the work with their own history of trauma, can take a profound toll. The new blueprint provides ideas and resources for team and self care, trauma-informed leadership and support, and burnout prevention.
The physical environment of court also plays a crucial role in people’s experience, especially when they are facing heightened stress and emotions coming into court. Clear, friendly signage in multiple languages can help people feel less confused and overwhelmed as they navigate court buildings. Natural light, outdoor spaces, and greenery can create a more welcoming and breathable atmosphere. Lowering the bench so that judges meet with others closer to eye level helps reduce power dynamics that can add to people’s sense of vulnerability. When the physical layout of the court can’t be changed, even small gestures like offering to open or close a window can go a long way for people who have suffered from a severe loss of control in their past.
People need to feel safe in order to heal from trauma. In the criminal justice system, that can be a tall order. But there are steps every criminal court can take to create a more welcoming, supportive environment for people who have been hurt—and break the cycles of harm that make it harder for people to reach their full potential.