Michael Schrunk has been the district attorney in Multnomah County, Oregon, for over 25 years, and has been the leader in several innovative justice initiatives. He launched Portland’s community prosecution program in 1990 and helped to open Portland’s first community court in 1998. In February 2007 he spoke with Center for Court Innovation staff about his experiences with both.
Phillip McDonald is the court programs administrator for the Atlanta Community Court. He spoke with Center staff about the neighborhood Restorative Boards being developed and expanded under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community-Based Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative.
In 1992, Portland District Attorney Michael Schrunk asked then Assistant District Attorney Mike Kuykendall to help launch a community prosecution program, one of the first in the country. Later, he directed the Community Prosecution Program at the American Prosecutors Research Institute in Virginia for several years before returning to Portland. At the time of this interview, he was Vice President of Central City/Downtown Services for the Portland Business Alliance. Here he speaks with the Center for Court Innovation’s Robert V. Wolf about his work.
Judge Raymond R. Norko talked with Robert V. Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation, about the court’s accomplishments and the changes he’s seen over the years.
Portland's first community court opened in March 1998 in the North/Northeast section of the city. It was followed, two years later, in February 2000, by the opening of the Southeast Community Court. With the opening of the Westside Community Court in April 2001, all of Portland's half million citizens had access to a community court. That same year Sarah Archer-Beck of the Community Justice Exchange talked with Robyn Gregory, the Portland Community Court project coordinator, about the city's Community Court program.
Scott C. Newman was elected Marion County District Attorney in 1994, and served until 2003. In this role he made community prosecution a key part of his overall crime-fighting strategy for Indianapolis and surrounding areas. He talked with Sarah Archer-Beck of the Community Justice Exchange about his interest in community justice and the obstacles he encountered—and overcame—as his office looked for new ways to address issues of crime and public safety.
On our 'New Thinking' podcast, Afua Addo, our coordinator of Gender and Justice Initiatives, explains our project aiding justice-involved black women who are survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
This podcast includes observations from the presiding judge, Alex Calabrese, and short interviews by Director of Communications Robert V. Wolf with the Brooklyn D.A.'s Chief Assistant District Attorney Anne Swern and Captain Kenneth Corey, commander of the 76th Precinct.
Together, Nikki Bell, survivor activist and the founder of Living in Freedom Together, and Melanie Thompson talk about trust in the context of both the criminal legal and child welfare systems. They examine some of the challenges around privacy and confidentiality and trusting those who work in the system while also outlining ways young people can become confident in their own voice and power.
Walter Dickey has been a member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Law School for almost 30 years. He has written extensively about community justice issues, and how police and prosecutors work can together with community members effectively for public safety. In early 2005, he spoke with the Center for Court Innovation’s Carolyn Turgeon about his views on community prosecution.