Category Archives: Uncategorized

Prosecutor Power #2: A Public Defender on the Urgency of Reform



As part of our series on prosecutor power, Scott Hechinger of Brooklyn Defender Services offers a view from the other side of the adversarial process, discussing prosecutors’ impact at key decision-points in his clients’ cases and weighing the prospects for reform in a time of increasing scrutiny of prosecutorial discretion. (Episode chosen as ‘Best of 2018‘ by the Vera Institute of Justice.)

Full show notes (includes pictures, resources, and episode transcript)


Violence, Trauma, and Healing in Crown Heights, Brooklyn



An audio portrait of Make It Happen, our program working with young men of color in Crown Heights, Brooklyn affected by violence. Through interviews with participants and practitioners, the episode explores the intersections of trauma, involvement with the justice system, and the lived experience of race. (Episode chosen as ‘Best of 2018‘ by the Vera Institute of Justice.)

Full show notes (includes pictures and episode transcript)


Improving Access to Civil Justice: A Conversation with Jordan Dressler



Jordan Dressler, the director of the recently created New York City Office of Civil Justice, discusses Mayor Bill
de Blasio’s ambitious five-year plan to provide free or low-cost legal assistance to every low-income New Yorker
facing eviction, deportation, or other potentially life-altering civil proceedings. The interview focuses in detail
on the benefits this guarantee is expected to have on tenants confronting landlords in Housing Court (the latter
almost always represented by lawyers). Hosting this episode of New Thinking are
Ignacio Jaureguilorda, director of
Poverty
Justice Solutions
, our program that seeks to close
the justice gap in Housing Court, and Robert V. Wolf, the Center for Court Innovation’s director of communications.