The Reform We’re Hoping for in 2020
Letter from the Editor
Welcome to the January issue of the Justice Programs Office (JPO) newsletter where we reflect on key criminal justice reforms that took shape in 2019 and highlight reforms to look forward to in 2020.
 
Last year, the First Step Act was both hailed as one of the most significant changes to the federal criminal justice system and skeptically criticized as a watered-down bill that plucked low-hanging fruit but didn’t go far enough to make impactful change. 
 
Whatever your view, we might agree that the bipartisan legislation catapulted the issue of criminal justice reform into the mainstream and catalyzed robust discussion about America’s justice system. While individuals and organizations deepened their enquiry about whether the current system offers rehabilitation and reduces recidivism, others called for a full re-imagining of a system that continues to disproportionately fail people of color. 
 
In addition to the federal judicial system, state-level criminal justice reforms are being put in place to address mass incarceration and other local justice issues. From pretrial to returning citizens, examples of reforms include limiting or eliminating cash bail as the primary instrument of pretrial release for criminal defendants and restoring voting rights for current and formerly incarcerated people. 
 
These and other reforms leave me cautiously optimistic that as the 2020 election heats up, justice reform will remain in the national spotlight as an urgent issue requiring attention.

- Leola Abraham, Associate Director of Communications, JPO
Restoring Rights
  • We begin the year with voting rights restored for over 200,000 previously incarcerated individuals in states like Kentucky and New Jersey, giving these folks a second chance and the opportunity to participate in this year’s presidential election. 

  • In addition, California passed a new state law allowing people convicted of felonies to serve as jurors in hopes to make trials fairer for minority defendants in San Francisco, specifically black defendants. While the courts have long claimed that defendants are entitled to a jury of their peers, black defendants often have their fates decided by juries with no black members. Senate Bill 310, from state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), is designed to correct that problem by expanding jury pools to include those with past felony convictions.
Restoring Freedom
  • The year kicked off with Illinois Governor, J.B. Pritzker, pardoning 11,017 people for low-level marijuana possession convictions — thus restoring rights for thousands of people. Ben Ruddell, Criminal Justice Policy Director for ACLU of Illinois said: “We know that black Illinois residents are far more likely to be arrested and convicted for marijuana possession than whites. This is a good step forward...”

  • On the first day of 2020, The New York Times Magazine released a compelling story asking readers, ‘Can you talk your way out of a life sentence?’

“A ccording to the state’s Board of Parole Hearings, more than 5,000 California “lifers” were eligible to go before a two- or three-person parole panel in 2019 to make the case that they are suitable candidates for release. In the first 11 months of the year, 1,074 of them, or 19 percent, were granted parole. While that number is still dwarfed by the tens of thousands left inside, it’s a striking shift from previous decades, when fewer than 1 percent of those who went before the board ever returned to society.” Read more . 

  • In The Atlantic, Loyola Law School professor Priscilla A. Ocen wrote about the reality of parole, where Kelly Savage enters a world that could feel as restrictive as the one she left in prison. As we enter 2020, this story helps us to imagine a world with parole reform. Read it here: Awakening to a Mass-Supervision Crisis. 
Restoring Dignity 
  • January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and this The New York Times story takes a closer look at Human Trafficking Interventions Courts in New York: read the story, here. 

  • JPO’s human trafficking project, MOSAICS, provides training and technical assistance to courts to help court practitioners identify and respond to the needs of human trafficking survivors facing criminal charges.

We are excited to announce the new 2020 board members that will serve as the voice of MOSAICS, comprised of some of the nation’s foremost human trafficking experts, including those with lived experiences of trafficking. The board ensures our training and technical assistance is informed by a diverse range of viewpoints and expertise and is inclusive of both labor trafficking and sex trafficking. To learn more about the MOSAICS board, visit our website .

If you are a court practitioner interested in how you and your court team can better identify and respond to survivors of human trafficking, please visit our MOSAICS webpage or contact us at mosaics@american.edu .
A Fresh Look at the Right to Counsel
JPO's Right to Counsel National Campaign (R2C) team relaunched the R2C website. The website now has easier navigation, updated content, and enhanced imagery. New features include helpful talking points when discussing the right to counsel; a resource page with pivotal research and news stories; and a clear overview of R2C’s theory of change and associated benchmarks to track our progress.
 
For criminal justice professionals, the updated website offers specific messaging points developed from roundtable discussions and the opportunity to get involved in the R2C National Consortium. 
 
For the public, the website provides an overview of public defense delivery systems in the US, with data-based reports for reference, and messaging points to highlight the importance of ensuring the constitutional right to counsel and effective public defense delivery systems.
 
Visit the site to find helpful tools for the year ahead and let us know what you think on Twitter .
Drug Court Review III Coming Soon
JPOs third issue of the Drug Court Review academic journal is due out in February.

This issue will focus on the unique challenges faced by rural drug courts such as operating in remote areas with limited resources and tackling increases in substance use and mental health disorders.

The journal offers a collection of articles on innovative approaches, program implementation, and evaluation in the treatment court field. Look out for more in our next issue.