1-Covers 10/11/00 3:59 PM Page grnC1 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance CCOMMUNITYOMMUNITY CCOURTSOURTS AANN EEVOLVINGVOLVING MMODELODEL Monograph C OMMUNITY J USTICE S ERIES #2 1-Covers 10/11/00 3:59 PM Page C2 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs 810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531 Janet Reno Attorney General Daniel Marcus Acting Associate Attorney General Mary Lou Leary Acting Assistant Attorney General Nancy E. Gist Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance Office of Justice Programs World Wide Web Home Page www.ojp.usdoj.gov Bureau of Justice Assistance World Wide Web Home Page www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA For grant and funding information contact U.S. Department of Justice Response Center 1–800–421–6770 This document was prepared by the Center for Court Innovation under grant number 96–DD–BX–0090, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance,Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions,findings,and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. 2-Main Body 10/11/00 4:03 PM Page i COMMUNITY COURTS AN EVOLVING MODEL October 2000 NCJ 183452 Prepared by Eric Lee, Deputy Director Center for Court Innovation 2-Main Body 10/11/00 4:03 PM Page iii From the Director The community court movement has come a long way since the first court opened in midtown Manhattan in 1993. The concepts pioneered by that court have taken root across the country. Nearly a dozen community courts are now open in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas. Another 13 communities plan to open courts in the near future. Midtown Community Court has succeeded by asking a new set of ques- tions about the role of the court in a community’s daily life: What can a court do to solve neighborhood problems? What can courts bring to the table beyond their coercive power and symbolic presence? And what roles can community residents, businesses, and service providers play in improv- ing justice? The community courts that were established after Midtown are answering these questions in different ways. Most focus on one neighborhood, but others are exploring ways to serve an entire city. Still others are expanding their scope beyond low-level criminal offenses to juvenile delinquency and housing code violations. But these pioneering courts also seek a set of common, important goals. All have implemented a new way of doing business that imposes immediate, meaningful sanctions on offenders, truly engages the community, and helps offenders address problems that are at the root of their criminal behavior. The Bureau of Justice Assistance continues to support the efforts of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and other local leaders who are using community courts to transform the way justice is administered in their communities. Nancy E. Gist Director Bureau of Justice Assistance BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE iii 2-Main Body 10/11/00 4:03 PM Page v Contents I. Introduction . 1 II. Overview . 3 How Do You Plan a Community Court? . 4 Which Community Should Be Served and Where Should the Court Be Located? . 5 How Should the Court Link Offenders to Social Services?. 6 Can Punishment and Help Be Combined? . 6 What Kinds of Cases Are Appropriate for Community Courts? . 6 What Role Should the Community Play? . 6 Are Community Courts Creating System Change?. 7 III. Community Court Profiles. 9 Midtown Community Court, New York City . 9 North/Northeast and Southeast Community Courts, Portland, Oregon . 10 Hartford Community Court, Hartford, Connecticut . 11 Hennepin County Community Court Calendar, Minneapolis, Minnesota . 12 Hempstead Community Court, Hempstead, New York . 13 West Palm Beach Community Court, West Palm Beach, Florida. 14 Downtown Austin Community Court, Austin, Texas . 15 Frayser Community Court, Memphis, Tennessee . 16 Atlanta Community Court, Atlanta, Georgia . 17 Red Hook Community Justice Center, Brooklyn, New York. 18 IV. Conclusion. 19 BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE v 2-Main Body 10/11/00 4:03 PM Page vi COMMUNITY COURTS: AN EVOLVING MODEL V. Resources on Community Justice . 21 VI. For More Information. 23 vi 2-Main Body 10/11/00 4:03 PM Page 1 I. Introduction In recent years cities and towns engage in the administration of across the country have embarked justice? on an experiment to test the propo- sition that courts can play a role To answer these questions, com- in solving complex neighborhood munity courts have developed problems and building stronger individual programs that differ in communities. Since the 1993 open- important ways. Although most ing of New York City’s Midtown of these new courts focus on one Community Court, the nation’s first, neighborhood, several jurisdictions dozens of cities have begun plan- are exploring ways to serve an ning community courts. Eleven entire city. Many community courts community courts are now operat- handle criminal cases only, but ing in communities across the others are experimenting with a nation, and six more will open by broader range of matters, including the end of 2000. At their outset, juvenile delinquency and housing each court must address the follow- code violations. Some community ing set of questions: courts were initiated by courts, and some have been championed by a • Can courts assume a problem- district attorney. solving role in the life of a com- munity, bringing people together These differences reflect a central and helping to craft solutions to aspect of community courts: they problems that communities face? focus on neighborhoods and are designed to respond to the particu- • How can courts address the lar concerns of individual communi- impact that chronic offending ties. Moreover, community courts has on a community? are shaped by the particular politi- cal, economic, and social land- • Can courts improve the quality scapes in each community. of life in a community? The Center for Court Innovation • Can local voices—residents, (CCI), with support from the Bureau merchants, community groups— of Justice Assistance (BJA), has provided technical assistance About the Author Eric Lee is deputy director of the Center for Court Innovation. Research, ideas, and text were contributed by Courtney Bryan, Jimena Martinez, Bridget Regan, and Robert Wolf of the Center for Court Innovation. BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE 1 2-Main Body 10/11/00 4:03 PM Page 2 COMMUNITY COURTS: AN EVOLVING MODEL to each community court and snapshot of these early community documented the emergence of this courts and explores emerging field. This monograph provides a issues in their development. 2 2-Main Body 10/11/00 4:03 PM Page 3 II. Overview In January 1998, the Midtown neighborhoods through commu- Community Court was the only nity service. community court in the United States. By March 2000, nearly a • Using the leverage of the court to dozen had opened across the coun- sentence offenders to complete try in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, social services that will help Minnesota, New York, Oregon, them address problems such as Tennessee, and Texas. New York drug addiction or involvement in City and Portland, Oregon, each prostitution. host two community courts, and • Bringing the court and the com- organizers in both cities intend to munity closer by making the open a third court in 2000. Another courthouse accessible, establish- 13 jurisdictions, in California, ing a community advisory board, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, and publishing a quarterly Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, New newsletter. York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas, plan to establish community • Using the court as a gateway to courts in the near future. treatment and making social ser- vices available to offenders right Community courts grow out of at the courthouse. frustration. Observers have noted that justice has become remote The Midtown model was thor- from communities and the people oughly documented in an indepen- who live in them. Community resi- dent evaluation conducted by the dents have reported feeling out of National Center for State Courts touch with courts. They want courts and in publications prepared by the to address low-level crime that is U.S. Department of Justice (see p. part of daily life. The Midtown 21 for a list of publications on com- Community Court offered a model munity justice). With a well-defined for addressing these problems by and carefully documented model in emphasizing the following: New York City, community court planners elsewhere faced questions • Locating the court in the com- about whether the Midtown model munity, close to where crimes would meet the needs of their take place. jurisdictions. Planners in other juris- • Repaying a community damaged dictions have made significant de- by low-level crime by requiring partures from the Midtown model, offenders to compensate reflecting both the distinct needs of their communities and the practical BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE 3 2-Main Body 10/11/00 4:03 PM Page 4 COMMUNITY COURTS: AN EVOLVING MODEL reality of what they believed they court from conception to imple- could accomplish given local mentation. This approach reflects resources and local support. the complexities of raising money, building community participation, The following sections examine developing sanctions, establishing the questions that planners asked partnerships, and so forth. Six of as they designed their community the operating community courts courts and how they resolved them. were staffed with a full-time coordi- nator during the planning period; How Do You Plan a the planning of three courts was led Community Court? by a staff person who dedicated a Community courts are complex majority of his or her attention to projects that involve rethinking the project.