Since the United States' high-water mark of incarceration in 2008, there has been a modest decrease in the use of incarceration nationally, with some cities and counties seeing much steeper declines. To drive these reductions, communities have invested in reforms such as alternatives to incarceration for misdemeanors and the decriminalization of some low-level crimes. Yet to reverse the over-reliance on incarceration, it is not enough to offer alternatives only to those charged with non-violent crimes; the justice system must also consider new approaches to offenses involving violence.
Judges can play a unique role in this. In October 2018, the Center for Court Innovation, with support from the Joyce Foundation and Latham & Watkins LLP, convened a small group of judicial leaders from across the country to grapple with the practical, ethical, and political challenges of alternative sentencing for cases involving violent behavior.
The goal of the summit was not to reach a consensus. Rather, discussions were aimed at creating a deeper understanding of the justice system’s often expansive definition of violence; what the actual risks of violence are, regardless of the charge; and how the justice system should address harm.