Red Hook Planning Diary

• NCJ Number: 178073
• Author(s): G Berman
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 109 pages
• Grant Number(s): 96-DD-BX-0090 (S-1)
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Corporate Author: Center for Justice Innovation
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This packet describes the structure and operations of two community courts in New York City and one in Hartford, Conn., with attention to lessons learned about the development and implementation of a community court.

Abstract

The packet's first section describes the planning and implementation of the Red Hook Community Justice Center, a neighborhood-based court currently in development in southwest Brooklyn. The planning "diary" offers lessons from a crucial moment in its development, i.e., the early stages of planning. The second section of the packet draws lessons from the Midtown Community Court, which is located on 54th Street in Manhattan; it is the first neighborhood-based court in New York City since the city's courts centralized in 1962. This section uses the experiences of the Midtown Community Court as a starting point for a broader discussion of the potential impact of neighborhood- based courts on the criminal justice system. It advises that when courts engage in unfamiliar practices, they also raise new concerns about due process, the adversarial system, and the independence of the judiciary. The next section of the packet focuses on the street outreach services of the Midtown Community Court. Under this program, experienced court workers accompanied by police officers identify likely prospects for court services, introduce themselves, describe the services available at the court, and explain where it is and when it is open. Another section of the packet is a guide for community court planners in engaging the community in the planning and implementation process. This is followed by a section that discusses the origins, expectations, and implementation of the Hartford Community Court (Connecticut). Other sections of the packet contain an executive summary of the implementation and effects of the Midtown Community Court; lessons from the Red Hook Youth Court; a design packet that contains concepts of community court design; and a catalog that offers tools, advice, and resources for community courts.