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Why Raj Jayadev is helping Philly's criminal justice system adopt participatory defense

Grace Shallow

November 21, 2018 |

Generocity |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Participatory defense, is a model that integrates the family into the legal defense of someone being prosecuted for a crime. Loved ones can bring in evidence like photos and records that speak to the character of the accused person. In Philadelphia, the model is being implemented and already helped reduce someone’s bail from $500,000 to $0. Nationally, the method has been proven to be highly effective. “Over 10 years, participatory defense hubs have popped up in 20 other cities and reduced people’s sentences by 4,218 years.”

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How Madeline Snyder, a trans woman in Tyler, got her driver's license fixed

Tasneem Raja

November 19, 2018 |

The Tyler Loop |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tyler, Texas

The legal process for changing your name and gender on drivers' licenses or birth certificates was—and, to a degree, still is—convoluted, expensive, and time-consuming. A grassroots movement started after the 2016 Presidential Election that used GoFundMe, Facebook, and public support to help Madeline Snyder and other trans people from Tyler, Texas change their legal documents all at once. The process wasn't always straightforward, but it had about a 75% success rate and brought with it a groundswell of support from the trans and ally communities.

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The Jim Crow Jury System Falls in New Orleans

Brentin Mock

November 08, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

An amendment passed in Louisiana does away with non-unanimous jury verdicts that have helped solidify racial discrimination in the criminal justice system since they were implemented in response to Reconstruction. Data shows black defendants were more likely to be convicted in the non-unanimous system and the votes of black jurors more likely to be silenced. Advocates said the amendment is a huge game changer against mass incarceration in Louisiana and racial discrimination.

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America's Other Family-Separation Crisis

Sarah Stillman

November 05, 2018 |

The New Yorker |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tulsa, Oklahoma

As incarceration rates of women in America continue to rise, Still She Rises, a project of the Bronx Defenders, uses a holistic approach to legal defense for incarcerated mothers in Tulsa, OK. Attorneys for the organization investigate injustices in cases and represent local, often impoverished, mothers, who face losing custody of their children in the face of the law.

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Disappeared

Molly Priddy

October 31, 2018 |

Flathead Beacon |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Crow Indian Reservation, United States, Helena, Montana

In Montana, officials are taking legislative steps to address the disproportionate number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Among the bills being introduced is “Hanna’s Act,” which would give the Department of Justice the power to assist with missing persons cases. Also included is expanded access, both to national crime databases and to social services, provided by the Office of Indian Services to more than 50 tribal communities.

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Solutions: Federal Policy

Tristan Scott

October 31, 2018 |

Flathead Beacon |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

In the United States, federal policies are expanding as a response to growing awareness of the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The Violence Against Women Act has expanded to include a statute called the Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction, which gives Indigenous communities the authority to provide criminal jurisdiction to non-Native Americans who inflict abuse and violence on Native Americans. Added in 2013, advocates and legislators seek to reauthorize the statute.

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Law & Disorder: Progressive Prosecutors Hope to Dismantle Mass Incarceration

Manny Faces

October 30, 2018 |

News Beat |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Across the United States, individuals and organizations are seeking to shift the criminal justice system through District Attorney elections. From online communities like colorofchange.org, which seeks to support grassroots election efforts, to individuals like Minnesota’s Mark Haase, who is running on a platform of diversity and inclusion, to the Texas Organizing Project that wants to empower Black and Latinx communities, each of these missions seeks to create more equity and transparency in the criminal justice system.

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The Crime Machine, Part II

PJ Vogt

October 12, 2018 |

Gimlet Media |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

CompStat seemed like a miracle of technology and data when it was rolled out in New York City in the 1990s. Crime dropped as police leadership demanded precincts report every crime and what they were doing about it at weekly meetings where they were pressured to conform to this new system. But this also resulted in police distorting actual crime data to avoid reporting crimes in their districts and the push for increased police activity resulted in cops targeting minorities for minor offenses.

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Philly Program Teaches Defendants How To Help Themselves

Annette John-Hall

October 05, 2018 |

WESA |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Philadelphia, the participatory defense program helps people learn how to present themselves in a criminal case in a way that gives a more complete picture of who they are. They write a biography, get letters of support and bring supporters to court in a system the chief public defender brought from Montgomery County and which originated in Silicon Valley. The program helps public defenders present their cases more effectively and judges may be more likely to impose less harsh sentences.

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4 Black Female Judges Use Their Courtrooms to Break the School-to-Prison Pipeline

J. Gabriel Ware

September 19, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

Inspired by the documentary 13th, which explores race and mass incarceration in the U.S., and frustrated by the amount of youth getting caught in criminal court, four black female judges decided to create a youth prevention program. The four month program is called “Pipeline to Possibilities,” and accepts about a hundred students who get to experience mock trials, and meet with the judges.“Knowledge is power, and maybe if they knew more about the criminal justice system, they wouldn’t find themselves on that side of the bench.”

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