The Arc

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It can take many forms, but at its core, a community court is about partnership and problem-solving. What is a community court? It can take many forms, but at its core, a community court is about partnership and problem-solving.  It's about creating new relationships, both within the justice system and with outside stakeholders such as residents, merchants, churches and schools.  And it's about testing new and aggressive approaches to public safety rather than merely responding to crime after it has occurred.   Here are six principles, derived from the experience of the Midtown Community Court, to keep in mind as you plan a community court: Restoring the Community Bridging the Gap Between Communities and Courts Knitting Together a Fractured Criminal Justice System Helping Offenders Deal with Problems That Lead To Crime Providing Better Information Designing a Physical Space to Match the Court's Goals Restoring the Community Recognize that communities are victims, too. Quality-of-life crime damages communities, often more so than individuals. If left unaddressed, low-level offenses erode communal order, leading to disinvestment and neighborhood decay and creating an atmosphere where more serious crime can flourish. A community court acknowledges this reality. Use punishment to pay back the community. Standard sentences – jail, fines, probation – may punish offenders, but they do little to restore the damage caused by crime. A community court requires offenders to compensate neighborhoods through community service. Combine punishment with help. Encouraging offenders to deal with their individual problems honors a community's ethical obligation to people who break its laws because they have lost control of their lives. Social service programs also have practical crime control value as they can permanently alter the behavior of chronic offenders. Give the community a voice in shaping restorative sanctions. A community court can open a dialogue with its neighbors, enlisting them in the effort to develop appropriate community service projects. A community advisory board can offer residents an institutionalized mechanism for interacting with the judge and court administrators. Give the community a voice in shaping restorative sanctions. A community court can open a dialogue with its neighbors, enlisting them in the effort to develop appropriate community service projects. A community advisory board can offer residents an institutionalized mechanism for interacting with the judge and court administrators. Give the community a voice in shaping restorative sanctions. A community court can open a dialogue with its neighbors, enlisting them in the effort to develop appropriate community service projects. A community advisory board can offer residents an institutionalized mechanism for interacting with the judge and court administrators. Give the community a voice in shaping restorative sanctions. A community court can open a dialogue with its neighbors.  

In addition to books written by Center for Court Innovation authors, numerous books feature content about the Center for Court Innovation. Problem-Solving Courts: Justice for the Twenty-First Century? (Praeger) is a collection of essays about the movement toward problem-solving justice. Edited by Paul Higgins and Mitchell Mackinem, the book examines both the promise and potential perils of problem-solving courts. The book begins with an essay by Center for Court Innovation director Greg Berman and numerous Center publications and projects are referenced throughout the text. James Nolan, a professor at Williams College, has written several books on problem-solving courts. His latest, Legal Accents, Legal Borrowings (Princeton University Press) documents the spread of problem-solving justice internationally. Nolan’s book begins with a look at the Red Hook Community Justice Center and goes on to examine problem-solving courts in England, Canada, Australia, Scotland and Ireland – all countries where the Center for Court Innovation has provided consulting services. A Kind of Genius: Herb Sturz and Society’s Toughest Problems (Public Affairs) by Sam Roberts tells the story of Herb Sturz, one of New York’s leading social entrepreneurs. Over the course of five decades, Sturz has helped shape public policy in New York, playing a number of important, behind-the-scenes roles in government, the non-profit sector and the media. A Kind of Genius contains a chapter describing Sturz’s role in the creation of the Midtown Community Court and the subsequent development of the Center for Court Innovation.  Other books about the Center for Court Innovation include: The Improvement of the Administration of Justice (ABA Press) Resolving Family Conflicts (Ashgate) Judging in a Therapeutic Key (Carolina Academic Press) Judicial Politics (CQ Press) Peter F. Drucker's Next Management (Verlag Sordon)