In honor of
Women's History Month,
Director Kim Ball shares her perspective on leadership, offering a look back at the challenges of growing up as an outspoken girl in the south and how she translated her gift of the gab into one of her greatest strengths as a leader.
Visit our blog to read about Kim's defining leadership moment, why she believes everyone can lead from where they are, no matter what career stage that might be, and her top tips to help anyone reach their leadership potential.
|
|
55th Anniversary of Gideon: #GideonAt55
|
|
March 18, 2018, marks the 55th anniversary of
Gideon vs. Wainwright
, the landmark, unanimous 1963 Supreme Court decision requiring states to provide defense attorneys to people accused of crimes who cannot afford to pay a private attorney. Fifty-five years after
Gideon
, with more than two million people incarcerated in the United States, many of whom are indigent, public defense providers are more critical than ever. Despite significant victories by the
Right to Counsel (R2C) National Campaign
and its partners, the Supreme Court's mandate of effective representation for every accused person whose liberty is at stake is largely unfunded and unrealized.
This month, JPO and R2C are commemorating
#GideonAt55, and we invite you to join us.
|
|
|
Join us on
Tuesday, March 20, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
EST
for a webinar on the
Face of Gideon
.
JPO Senior Policy Counsel, and former public defender,
Zoë Root
will moderate a candid conversation between public defenders and clients to explore how the
Gideon
decision shapes the criminal justice experiences of accused people and the advocates who defend them.
|
|
|
|
Visit
our blog
throughout March for posts about what
Gideon
means today, and consider submitting your own to
on the importance of
Gideon
and the right to counsel.
|
|
|
|
what the #right2counsel means to you.
|
|
Webinar Recording Available on Justice for All Reauthorization Act
|
|
Were you able to join
JPO
and the
National Criminal Justice Association
(NCJA)
for our joint webinar examining the change in requirements associated with Byrne JAG grants since the passing of the Justice for All Reauthorization Act (JFAA) of 2016 and how this creates an opportunity for state administering agencies (SAAs) and public defense providers to collaborate?
If not, you still can. The webinar is now available on our YouTube page. Hear members of the
Michigan Indigent Defense Commission
,
Michigan State Police
,
NCJA
, and
JPO
discuss the obstacles overcome by the Michigan SAAs and public defenders to achieve an effective and collaborative relationship.
|
|
Supporting Treatment Courts Over the Years
|
|
As times change, so do problems. In the last two decades
Senior Associate Director
Preeti Menon
has observed the ways drug courts and problem-solving courts have faced new challenges and continually evolved to offer new solutions. For instance, when veterans started coming into the justice system with substance use and mental health issues, judges and drug court teams connected with their local veterans’ affairs offices to create veterans tracks or veterans treatment courts.
Judge Russell
in Buffalo championed the first veterans treatment court in 2008 and has been at the forefront of addressing substance use and mental health through innovative means. And now, when many jurisdictions are facing an opioid crisis, drug treatment courts are going back to the drawing board to look at new ways to support those with opioid addiction.
Read
Supporting Treatment Courts Over the Years
for her examination of the evolution of treatment courts over the last twenty years and efforts to make drug courts and other problem-solving courts more effective by focusing on treatment, family engagement, and holistic approaches. She offers a look back at how she got into the treatment court field and why she is proud today oversee the work JPO does through
National Drug Court Resource Center
(NDCRC) to make sure that drug court professionals have the resources and tools they need to best support their jurisdictions.
|
|
Have you been listening to our podcast series
On the Docket with NDCRC
?
It explores topics related to problem-solving courts and the fundamentals of addressing substance use and mental health within the criminal justice system. Our next three episodes will take a look at how treatment courts are responding to the opioid crisis, and we invite you to take part.
Do you work in a treatment court that is based in a community experiencing the opioid crisis and have a working relationship with first responders?
Are you a treatment provider in a treatment court that is based in a community experiencing the opioid crisis?
Please contact host and producer, Anna Koozmin, at
koozmin@american.edu
or (202) 885-3834, if you wish to share your experience!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|