What are
Community Courts? California Courts Programs
Community courts are an experiment in community-based justice. Like other
collaborative justice courts, community courts aim to improve efficiency in
judicial proceedings, match sanctions and services to offenders, and build
bridges between public and private agencies that serve offenders. Community
courts focus on quality-of-life crimes and on cleaning up neighborhoods that are
deteriorating from crime and neglect. The courts encourage community groups to
identify neighborhood problems and become involved in developing solutions.
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Austin Community Court City of Austin The purpose of the Downtown Austin Community Court is to collaboratively address the quality of life issues of all residents in the downtown Austin community through the swift, creative sentencing of public order offenders. Atlanta Community Court City of Atlanta Municipal Court The Atlanta Community Court is a division of the Atlanta Municipal Court that responds to what are known as quality of life crimes: prostitution, disorderly conduct, panhandling, and low-level drug offenses. The Community Court was established in March 2000 through the vision of former Chief Judge William F. Riley, Jr. The creation of the Court was supported by then, Chief Judge Barbara Harris, the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta City Council and Central Atlanta Progress. In July 2001, the Community Court adjudicated and managed up to 2,500 new defendants. To date, year 2004, through expansion, the number of defendants increased to over 7,500. Community Court Overview The Center for Court Innovation Community courts are neighborhood-focused courts that attempt to harness the power of the justice system to address local problems. They can take many forms, but all focus on creative partnerships and problem-solving. They strive to create new relationships, both within the justice system and with outside stakeholders such as residents, merchants, churches and schools. And they test new and aggressive approaches to public safety rather than merely responding to crime after it has occurred. The first community court in the country was the Midtown Community Court, launched in 1993 in New York City. Community Court Department of Community Justice The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office is the primary sponsor of
Community Court. While the Department of Community Justice does not have
administrative oversight of Community Court, the Department is a major
collaborator. Community Court District Courts Minnesota The first Community Court in Dakota County was held October 2002 at the new
Northern Service Center in West St. Paul. Community Court was established by
Judge Leslie M. Metzen to offer a speedier, more efficient resolution to certain
established liveability issues involving the cities of West St. Paul, South St.
Paul and Inver Grove Heights. Community Court Portland Business Alliance The Portland Business Alliance is an active partner with the community justice system of Multnomah County and the State of Oregon in the Community Court system. Community Court gives the judicial system the opportunity to prosecute quality of life crimes in a cost efficient manner and in a way that benefits both the community offended and the individual offender. By providing on-site staff and community service coordinators, The Alliance programs at Community Court continue to provide innovative initiatives and significant contributions to local justice agencies and Portland area communities. In addition, providing partnership with local, existing social service agencies to an offender gives opportunities to an individual to address the root causes of his or her unlawful behavior. |
Using Law to Serve the Community - Case in Point: M. Carmen RamirezLaw and Justice ... Just Law!
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Community Courts Red Hook Justice
In the past decade, hundreds of experimental community courts have been established around the U.S., revamping the nation’s troubled criminal justice system from the inside out. This “legal revolution” is an ongoing process, dating back to a 1979 article in which Herman Goldstein advocated replacing a police emphasis on procedures with a focus on developing genuinely effective responses to common problems. By the early 1990s, several courts from Massachusetts to Florida had began to work with integrated police and prosecution services, preferring supervised treatment over incarceration. In 1993, the nation’s first community court, New York City’s Midtown Community Court, opened and combined traditional punishments with on-site treatment and training. The following year, Congress’s Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Violence Against Women Act paved the way for the creation of problem-solving justice centers across the country.
District Attorney's Community Court San Francisco
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office, in collaboration with the San Francisco Mayor's Office, Trial Courts, San Francisco Police Department, Public Defender's Office, California Community Dispute Services (CCDS), Pre-trial Diversion Project, community-based organizations, neighborhood residents and merchant associations, launched the community court in late 1998. The first two pilot community courts were in the Bayview-Hunters Point and Oceanview-Merced-Ingleside neighborhoods.