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Dismissed: Tenants lose, landlords win in Baltimore's rent court

Doug Donovan Jean Marbella

April 26, 2017 |

The Baltimore Sun |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is home to the nation’s first housing court. Established 70 years ago, the court was supposed to hold landlords accountable for code violations, such as failing to provide heat, remove lead paint, or respond to pest infestations. But today, even if city inspectors deem properties so endangering to health and safety that they are uninhabitable, judges routinely require tenants to pay withheld rent before cases are even heard.

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How to Turn Neighborhoods Into Hubs of Resilience

Taj James Rosa González

April 14, 2017 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Community development programs in cities around the country show how using connectedness and equity as focal points in sparking community change can be successful and sustainable in the long-term. From a Brooklyn grassroots environmental justice organization sustainably rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy to a coalition of nonprofits in Richmond fueling public participation in renewable energy awareness, these entities rely on relationships, equity and bonding over shared communities to foster solutions.

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Mentally ill man worse off after acquittal

Jessica Priest

April 08, 2017 |

The Victoria Advocate |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Victoria, Texas

“Two million people with mental illness are booked into jails every year.” Mental health courts, would take into accounts a person’s illness, rather than solely focusing on the crime.

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How do you fix a broken system? One U.S. city offers a model for handling sex-assault cases

Robyn Doolittle

February 10, 2017 |

The Globe and Mail |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

If not properly investigated, sexual assault claims can be dismissed prematurely, disrupting the justice process and allowing offenders to continue hurting people. In Philadelphia, after an audit revealed more than 2,000 mishandled sexual offense claims in five years, police officers and women’s rights advocates began sitting together once a year to review police files and catch procedural problems. Now 17 years strong, the collaboration continues to hold law enforcement accountable and catch mishandled claims.

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N.J. will eliminate cash bail, speed up criminal trials in 2017

Joe Hernandez

December 21, 2016 |

WHYY |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

New Jersey has eliminated cash bail and will instead make a determination, driven in part by computer algorithms, on whether someone is likely to commit another crime or not show up for their court date. This eliminates a system where more than a third of people awaiting trial were behind bars only because they could not afford bail. If a judge does decide to hold someone in jail, another reform kicks in assuring a speedy trial by setting required deadlines for cases to be heard.

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A day to expunge criminal records is hugely popular in Philly

Jane M. Von Bergen

November 11, 2016 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, people with certain types of misdemeanors can ask the courts to seal their records from public view. When this law was passed, a team of 175 lawyers, paralegals, and law students volunteered to help eligible people start the process of sealing their records. The event was a big hit with 1,853 people signing up for help, so many that registration had to close. Of the applicants, 1,200 will likely get their records sealed.

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Chronically Absent: Is Quality Education in Juvenile Detention Possible in Mississippi?

Sierra Mannie

July 27, 2016 |

Jackson Free Press |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Pelahatchie, Mississippi

Many years of work to improve juvenile-detention centers in Mississippi may curb recidivism rates by increasing the quality of life in detention. Despite those efforts, however, centers might still be unable to give detained students what they need the most—a quality education.

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Have You Ever Been Arrested? Check Here

Tina Rosenberg

May 24, 2016 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Across the country, new criminal justice campaigns are seeking to redefine how criminal records are both accessed and interpreted. Given that current crime histories fail to denote context and stories of culmination, these new products are seeking to both delay the effect criminal convictions have, as well as reshape how criminal records are recorded.

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Nothing But The Truth

Robert Kolker

May 24, 2016 |

The Marshall Project |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Historically, police interrogations of suspects have been brutal and have involved torture. These strategies have also produced a high rate of false confessions. The HIG method, which encourages conversation in a comfortable environment, has shown to be successful in revealing the truth and incarcerating the convicted with confidence.

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Machine Bias

Julia Angwin Jeff Larson

May 23, 2016 |

ProPublica |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Risk assessments are supposed to make the criminal justice system better by predicting which defendants are likely to commit new crimes. Defendant scores are given to judges during criminal sentencing in nine states, and there’s a push to mandate their use in federal prisons. But the risk assessments aren’t accurate, only somewhat more reliable than a coin flip. Black defendants are falsely flagged as future criminals at a high rate while white defendants regularly get mislabeled as low risk.

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