Policy Brief: Early Case Assessment in Urban Jurisdictions

The twin goals of early case assessment are to devote more resources to those cases for which a conviction can confidently be obtained, and also to decline to prosecute, reduce charges, or divert other cases. Our Early Case Assessment Policy Brief takes a look at how the District Attorney's Offices...
August 21, 2012

It’s Time to Coordinate on Diversion

This piece originally appeared at the Huffington Post.  In response to growing concern about violent crime and shrinking budgets, public officials have adopted a number of initiatives to prioritize use of scarce resources. And despite an ordinance requiring a cooperative approach to diversion of of...
August 18, 2012

Bond Court Reforms: A Second Look for Diversion Programs

By Michael Levy, Staff Attorney at Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice At a press conference on July 13, 2012, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced a major step toward reforming Cook County’s criminal justice system with the implementation of a coordinated diversion program in central bo...
July 19, 2012

Community Courts and the Fight Against Quality-of-Life Crimes

by Brian Gilbert, Summer Intern with Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice On June 27th of this year, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported here, five-term Alderman Michael Zalewski proposed a bill to raise the fines for adult graffiti taggers from $750 to $2,000, and to mandate a minimum of three days in...
July 16, 2012