Children in the courtroom: How Virginia judges are giving kids a voice

The nonprofit Hope Behind Bars provides legal services for free for those who are arbitrarily detained to help them get justice. The organization does their own investigation and represents inmates in court.

Arkansas’ judicial oversight agency has the staffing and persistence to hold bad judges accountable in ways that counter a nationwide pattern of weak enforcement and judicial impunity. The Arkansas Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission has a staff that’s almost three times as large as the national per-judge average and it publicly disciplines judges more than twice the national rate. It is one of the few such agencies that will investigate anonymous complaints, frequently a barrier to starting judicial misconduct probes.

The way in which Kentucky’s Louisville Metro Police Department handles rape cases has come into question. The department’s low level of cases being brought to trial is because of the extra step police officers take: checking with prosecutors to see if they’ll take the case to court. If prosecutors won’t, the police don’t make arrests. The policy is justified as victim-centered. But experts say this, combined with other problematic practices by the LMPD, can leave survivors feeling as though they aren’t believed and alone with their trauma.

A practice in Johannesburg is making the courtroom and trial process less scary for sexually abused children by letting them play the role of court officials alongside therapy dogs in a pretend court. The Teddy Bear Foundation, responsible for this role play activity, wants children to be less scared but also prepared for their day in court when it comes.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s office has been instituting “blind charging,” making it impossible to see someone’s name, race, and other demographics before deciding to charge them with a crime. This new practice comes as a response to accusations of racial bias and profiling when deciding whether to pursue a charge – citing that black people are disproportionately targeted within the criminal justice system.

Across the United States, district attorney’s are creating blacklists, or “do not call” lists, of police officers that have allegedly lied, abused their power, or have been corrupted. The purpose is to prevent untrustworthy sources from testifying in court, allowing city prosecutors to build stronger cases. While many police departments and unions have opposed such lists, calling them unfair and subjective, prosecutors and communities have supported their use as a response to police misconduct.

An amendment passed in Louisiana does away with non-unanimous jury verdicts that have helped solidify racial discrimination in the criminal justice system since they were implemented in response to Reconstruction. Data shows black defendants were more likely to be convicted in the non-unanimous system and the votes of black jurors more likely to be silenced. Advocates said the amendment is a huge game changer against mass incarceration in Louisiana and racial discrimination.

Project SAFE, based in New York, is providing justice-oriented programs and courts around the country with a lesson in intersectionality. Citing the unique realities that Black women face, the project partners with others on multiple initiatives, including: trauma-based training, policy research, podcasts, and overall knowledge dissemination. Across all initiatives is the underlying goal of bringing more understanding and knowledge to those who play a direct role in the incarceration of Black women.

Public defenders' caseloads are too large for them to be able to provide the details that a loved one of an offender can provide in court. Participatory Defense programs train loved ones of the offender to be able to provide a testimony, often resulting in less severe sentences.

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.