Problem-Solving Justice

problem-solving
Problem-solving justice seeks to go beyond processing cases to solve the problems that bring people to court.

Problem-solving courts, such as drug and mental health courts, work to engage the community in addressing the underlying conditions that fuel crime. Today, thousands of such courts are testing new approaches to difficult cases where social, human, and legal problems intersect. But along with these individual courts, problem-solving justice is also about taking the approach to scale.

Embedded in centralized courthouses, for example, our Bronx Community Solutions, Brooklyn Justice Initiatives, and Newark Community Solutions each handle thousands of cases per year, offering services and community-based alternatives to jail and fines. Through our work implementing these ambitious projects, we offer a range of customized training and technical assistance plans and publications for jurisdictions interested in applying problem-solving justice principles in centralized courthouses.

Initiatives

  • Bronx Community Solutions

    Bronx Community Solutions applies a problem-solving approach to cases in the Bronx centralized criminal court, providing judges with community-based alternatives to jail and fines.

  • Brooklyn Justice Initiatives

    Brooklyn Justice Initiatives seeks to improve how the centralized criminal court in Brooklyn responds to misdemeanor and felony cases.

  • Newark Community Solutions

    Newark Community Solutions applies a problem-solving approach to low-level cases in Newark, New Jersey’s municipal courthouse.

Publications & Digital Media

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News

  • Community courts and the homeless: Making a difference

    September 5, 2020
    The Register-Guard

    "Community courts connect defendants with services that can change their lives. That’s something traditional courts aren’t equipped to do," says Julius Lang, a senior advisor at the Center, of the importance of community courts. Through a grant from the Department of Justice, the Center is assisting jurisdictions across the U.S. implement these programs. 

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We work with reformers around the world.

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