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Supremes hear prison overcrowding arguments

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Dec. 6th

On November 30th, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on whether to susutain a three-judge  California federal district court panel that found the California prison system overcrowding violates inmates right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.  That court panel ruled in January that overcrowding in the state’s prison system is the main cause of substandard medical and mental health care which violated the Constitutional guarantee.

It would appear that the entire criminal justice sysytem, as well as, defendants and inmates rights’ organizations are heavily focused on this issue. If California were forced to release up to 40,000 inmates (as has been orderred), there could be massive inmate releases in California and across the nation.

The court appeared to be split along historic political lines with more liberal justices lining up with the appellate panel and more conservative justices in opposition. What appears to be clear from oral argument is the real concern of most justices at the appalling degree of misery that overcrowding is causing. Even the more conservative justices seemed to acknowledge that much. As in many cases, the decison may fall to Justice Anthony Kennedy who is often the swing vote on the Court. He said the three-judge panel had made a “perfectly reasonable decision” that prisons jammed to nearly twice their designed capacity could not meet constitutional standards for medical care. But he also expressed concern with the rapid timeline and the number of prisoners to be released. It appears that this will be a close decision, and one that will have tremendous ramifications for states across the nation
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Importantly for Reentry Court programs and other community-based alternatives to prison, if the lower court panel is upheld, there will be an immediate need to deal with an influx of parolees and to expand the resources to deal with those returnees. More to the point,we need to begin preparations now to deal with an influx of parolees to be released in the coming years , no matter what the Supreme Court decides.

For more info: SFGate

Dallas Program: Back in The News

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Nov. 15, 2010

Chris Watler, the Director of the Harlem  Community Justice Center (which houses the Harlem Parole Reentry court) takes a look at the Dallas SAFPT Reentry Court. This website published an article on the Dallas reentry program last December (Dallas SAFPC: Where Reentry is Also Preentry), but Chris’s article, (Rethinking Reentry: A Visit To The Dallas Reentry Court) gives a more down to earth description of one of the premiere Reentry Courts in the U.S.

CDCR reports new recidivism stats

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Nov. 15, 2010

The California Department of Corrections and Recidivism (CDCR) just published a comprehensive report on prison recidivism, “2010 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation Report” . Measured over a three-year period, inmates released in fiscal year 2005/06 have a recidivism rate of 67.5 percent.
Among the reports key findings:

  • Nearly three-quarters of felons who recidivate did so within a year of release.
  • Most recidivists returned to prison for parole violations.
  • After three years, re-released felons returned to prison at a rate 16.8 percentage points higher than those released for the first time.
  • Females have a three-year return-to-prison rate of 58 percent, which is approximately 10 percentage points lower than that of males.
  • In general, recidivism rates declined with age. Among inmates, ages 18 to 24 when released in fiscal year 2005/06, nearly 75 percent returned to prison within three years, compared to about 67 percent ages 40 to 44 and 46 percent of those 60 years of age and older.
  • Sex offenders recidivate at a slightly lower rate compared with other felons. Of the sex offenders who recidivate, 86 percent do so because of a parole violation.

    • The  blog, “The California Correctional Crisis”, has an excellent analysis of the report by Professor Hadar Aviram of the Hastings Law School.

    Evidence Based Practices Revisited

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    Nov 7, 2010

    Although referenced in other  articles on this site, this seems like an appropriate time to reprint (and reaffirm our support for) the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) sponsored report,“Implementing Evidence-Based Principles in Community Corrections: The Principles of Effective Intervention” authored by the Crime and Justice Institute. This brief, but critical work (19 pages) lays out the critical principles of evidence based practices that apply to those returning to our communities from jails and prisons.

    A companion monograph on the same subject was authored by Peggy Burke and published by NIC in August of 2008 , “TPC Reentry Handbook:  Implementing the NIC Transition from Prison to the Community Model.”

    Reentry Courts: After the Midterms

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    Nov. 7,2010

    Ted Gest, writing in the “Crime Report, on the prospects for continued federal funding for reentry programs such as reentry courts , provides an insiders look at funding issues in the new Congress (“After the Midterms”). He appears to be of the opinion that the Republican chairmen slated to take charge of committees responsible for criminal justice funding, are not likely to radically reduce funding for reentry programs. This is obviously an issue we all want to watch carefully and be prepared to weigh in on, with support for the “Second Chance Act and reentry court funding, specifically.

    Study on Need for Financial Assistance

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    Nov. 1, 2010

    A new report from England, “Time is Money“, from the Prison Reform Trust and, Unlock (the National Association of Reformed Offenders) highlights the importance of access to financial services for prisoners due for release. The study explores the impact of the criminal justice system on banking, credit, debt, savings and insurance, and concludes that financial inclusion for people in prison reduces reoffending.

    New: “Reentry Court in Indian Country

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    Oct. 24th

    A new publication by the American Indian Development Associates, and funded by the Office of Justice Program’s was released in August of 2010. Entitled,” STRATEGIES FOR CREATING OFFENDER REENTRY PROGRAMS IN INDIAN COUNTRY”, it provides a comprehensive review of reentry actvities and prospects in Indian Country. It also provides a brief analysis of the efficacy of case-specific, as well as, stand alone reentry courts (pp.18-20). It concludes at one point, “While no tribal reentry courts were found during this study, at least one tribal drug court included released offenders on dockets. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (pp.29-30)

    L.A.’s Women’s Reentry Court

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    Oct. 24th

    Judge  Michael Tynan of the Los Angeles Superior Court, runs the Second Chance Women’s Re-entry Court program, perhaps the only reentry court in the nation for women facing a return to state prison. Typically charged with nonviolent felonies, these women plead guilty to pending charges and enter treatment instead of being returned to state prison. The results have been extraordinary. According to an October 19th article in the Los Angels Times,  approximately 200 women  have enterred the program since its inception in 2007, and “overwhelmingly, the women are making it through treatment and going on to lead crime-free lives”.

    Debt: An Obstacle To Reentry

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    Oct. 17, 2010

    According to a new publication just out, “Many states are imposing new and often onerous “user fees” on individuals with criminal convictions. Yet far from being easy money, these fees impose severe – and often hidden – costs on communities, taxpayers, and indigent people convicted of crimes. They create new paths to prison for those unable to pay their debts and make it harder to find employment and housing as well to meet child support obligations.”

    Published by the New York University  Law School’s Brennan School of  Justice, Criminal Justice Debt: A Barrier To Reentry,  by Alicia Bannon, Mitali Nagrecha, Rebekah Diller, presents a muti-layered indictment of the heightenned state intererest in extracting monetary penance from offenders reenterring society with no resources or ability to to pay. An important work that will add much to the debate about what encumbrances are fair and even constitutional upon release into society.

    SF adds 2 Reentry Courts

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    Oct.10th

    San Francisco Superior Court is about to implement two reentry courts, one for parolees returning from prison and the other for probationers who have spent a term in the county jail. The former is called the SF Parole Reentry Court; the latter, the  SF Probation Accountability Court. While there are a number of jurisdictions that work with parolees and others that work with probationers, San Francisco may be the only California jurisdiction that works with both populations that are reentering the community.

    The Parole Reentry Court is expected to begin its sessions by the end of October; the Probation Accountability Court is expected to begin by the of November

    See Examiner Article

    “Second Chance Act” Reauthorization Begins

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    Oct. 2

    The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the Committee on the Judiciary, held its first hearing on the reauthorization of the “Second Chance Act.  Testifying before the subcommittee on Sept.29th were Le’Ann Duran, Director of the National Reentry Resources Center, Council of State Governments; Michele Banks, Manager,Richmond Second Chance Re-entry Program, Richnond City Sheriff’s Office; Nancy G. La Vigne Director, Justice Policy Center, The Urban Institute; David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D. Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Data Analysis, Heritage Foundation; and Gladyse Taylor, Acting Director, Illinois Department of Correction.

    While none of the witnesses testified in regard to reentry courts, their testimony (found above) is relevant as to the reauthorization of the “Second Chance act” and its $10 million in grant funding for reentry courts. Proceedings in both House and Senate are expected to continue on Reauthorization over the next several months. We will do my best to keep you informed as events unfold.

    Prison stocks Down

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    Sept. 27th

    This week, a Wall Street publication, “the Street”, described an unexpected weakness in privately owned prison stocks. Blaming the weakness on a reduction in both violent crime and a first time ever decline in prison populations nationwide (after an eight fold increase between 1972 and 2008), the article, “Jailhouse stocks slip as trends shift” projects continuing weakness in prison spending.


    Blog On Reentry Courts

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    Sept. 27th

    Christopher Watler is the Project Director of the Harlem Community Justice Center where he oversees the operations of the Harlem Parole Reentry Court and Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force.

    Chris blogged from the BJA sponsored “Reentry Court Focus Group” at  the NADCP Conference in Boston, in June of this year. I just came across his article, “Drug Court Conference Features Reentry Courts”, in the blog, “Re-Thinking Reentry” and thought it presented  a very thoughtful and cogent description of the different reentry court models and the promise of reentry courts. One important point Chris makes is that “Reentry Courts must show results over the next three to five years to justify their role in the national community safety infrastructure”.

    Stanford puts on Reentry Court Conference

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    Sept. 20

    Leaders of the California Administrative Office of the Courts  (AOC) and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, joined with the Federal Judicial Center in putting on a three day training on Reentry Courts at the  Stanford Criminal Justice Center (Sept.13-15). The conference provided Reentry Court technical assistance and training to seven California County Courts and seven Federal District Courts.

    Led by Shelley Curran of the AOC and Lee Seale of the CDCR, the seven California pilot courts also worked on developing common protocols, MOUs and procedures that could be implemented among all seven California pilot courts. The California Pilot Program will distribute $10 million over two years to the seven pilot courts and provide the best opportunity to date, to evaluate the Reentry Court model.

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