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Wrongful Convictions Lawyers Cash In by Targeting Insurers

Roy Strom

June 21, 2022 |

Bloomberg |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Idaho Falls, Idaho

The lawyers at Lathrop GPM created a strategy to settle civil rights claims by encouraging municipalities to use insurance money to pay settlements. The strategy helps inmates alleging bodily injury and wrongful conviction to recieve payouts and be absolved of their crimes without using taxpayer dollars.

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Metro Phoenix cities turn to homeless courts to help people navigate the justice system

Taylor Stevens

June 03, 2022 |

AZ Central (The Arizona Republic) |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Mesa, Arizona

When people experiencing homelessness in Mesa, Ariz. are charged with low-level offenses such as trespassing or public intoxication, they have the option to participate in community court to get their case dismissed if they agree to seek help from government programs and services. Participants are assigned a "navigator" to help them obtain required identification documents, search for housing, or apply for jobs, and more than 90% of those who graduated from community court in 2021 have not ended up back in the legal system.

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How an Experimental Service in a Library Prevents Incarceration

Emily Nonko

June 01, 2022 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

The Tap In Center in St. Louis connects volunteer attorneys with people who have open warrants to work toward recalling them. Since the service launched a little over a year ago, nearly 300 warrants have been recalled.

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From prison to freedom: How a firm is helping detainees get justice

Mustapha Usman

April 30, 2022 |

International Centre for Investigative Reporting |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

The Headfort Foundation runs pro bono cases for incarcerated people in need of legal representation. The Foundation recently launched a Lawyers Without Borders initiative that grants easily accessible, free legal services to those in need by setting up mobile offices. This initiative alone has helped more than 175 people thus far.

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More Public Defense Spending

Emily Nonko

April 28, 2022 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Defender Association of Philadelphia practices community-oriented public defense — also known as "holistic defense" — to connect clients with support services and resources that help address the root causes of crimes. The association works with social workers, investigators, and paralegals to get clients access to housing, food, jobs, and healthcare, as well as mental health and substance use treatment, with more than 150 people referred to treatment providers between September 2016 and January 2017.

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Restorative justice solutions for youth are growing abroad, can they become part of the mix in the U.S.

Elizabeth Thompson

March 24, 2022 |

North Carolina Health News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Italy

As North Carolina reevaluates its approach to juvenile justice, the state is looking to examples like Italy, where restorative justice practices such as victim-offender mediation, in which the victim and perpetrator of a crime meet with a mediator to discuss and reconstruct the incident, play a critical role in cases involving youth. The country incarcerates fewer children and young adults on a given day than North Carolina despite its population being roughly six times the size of the state's.

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Pima County programs help keep drug users out of jail, save taxpayers money

Caitlin Schmidt

January 29, 2022 |

Arizona Daily Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

Tucson’s Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison program, or DTAP, offers intensive treatment and recovery services to certain people convicted of nonviolent offenses as an alternative to serving a sentence behind bars. Participants also receive support and counseling around job and life skills, transportation, and other critical needs, and at least 119 people have successfully completed the program since 2011.

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Can Remote Court Services Help to Improve Digital Equity?

Jule Pattison-Gordon

January 07, 2022 |

Governing |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Utah

Technology has allowed courts across the country to maintain - and even expand, -services during COVID-19. In Utah, courts held remote hearings and used Doodle to schedule hearings and request interpreters. The virtual schedules filled up fast and, in some cases, officials had to bring laptops and tablets to people who lacked access to technology. Spreading the word in unique ways, including social media, and setting up mobile courts addressed some access issues, particularly among people experiencing homelessness.

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A shellfish company gets into the weeds

Sarah Sax

December 28, 2021 |

High Country News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

In their fight to protect eelgrass, The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community sued the Army Corps and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Swinomish Tribe argued that creating wide exemptions to shellfish farming could endanger eelgrass, which they rely on. Their win led to stricter regulations that require individual permits rather than national permits. The tribe also opened its own shellfish operation.

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‘Something major': Wake DA partners with nonprofits to clear people's arrest warrants

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra

December 11, 2021 |

The News & Observer |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Raleigh, North Carolina

The Wake County district attorney worked with criminal-justice reform groups to hold a "warrant clinic" where people could apply to void arrest warrants that could land them in jail, with all of the financial and social costs that come with that. About 45 of 160 applicants were approved in the process, which comes with multiple conditions limiting eligibility to people facing relatively minor charges who missed court dates or had similar reasons for getting named in a warrant. The organizers hope to continue the practice, which also saves the county money.

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