National Institute of Justice Program Focus. In New York City: A 'Community211 Court' and a New Legal Culture

摘要

The recently initiated Midtown Community Court, whose jurisdiction sprawls across211u001emore than 350 blocks of Manhattan, contains everything it needs inside one 211u001ebuilding: a courtroom, a social services center, a community service program, and 211u001einnovative computer support. The court, housed in the old Magistrate's Court 211u001ebuilding next to the Midtown North police station, follows a philosophy that 211u001ediffers from most traditional courts in its handling of misdemeanor arraignments. 211u001eFocusing on low-level offenses that can bring down a community's morale, it holds 211u001edefendants immediately accountable for their crimes. But the court also addresses 211u001eissues underlying the problems that led to the offenses by providing social 211u001eservices such as drug treatment. The building itself presents an atypical image: 211u001eIt has clean, light-filled rooms that are secured with glass panels, not steel 211u001ebars. In its first 14 months, from October 1993 to December 1994, the Midtown 211u001eCommunity Court arraigned 11,959 defendants. Today the court hears about 55 to 60 211u001enew cases per day. Court administrators are proud of the 75-percent completion 211u001erate for sanctions for community service, which they say exceeds that of other 211u001ebusy urban courts. Another indicator of effectiveness is that about 16 percent of 211u001eoffenders sentenced to community or social services have voluntarily continued 211u001ewith such programs as drug treatment, HIV testing, and employment counseling 211u001eafter completing their sentences. Community service projects are assigned in 211u001econjunction with police officers and with the Times Square Business Improvement 211u001eDistrict. The police consider the court a new resource for their community 211u001epolicing activities, and the business association provides work for 10 to 20 211u001eoffenders per week. Many projects involve painting and cleanup tasks to improve 211u001ethe neighborhood and deter crime. For those who draw a short community service 211u001esentence of 1 day's work, it is possible to be arrested, arraigned, and to 211u001ecomplete 6 hours of community service in less than 24 hours. The court aims to 211u001emake accountability swift because delays between conviction and assignments to 211u001efulfill community service sentences have allowed many to avoid their obligations. 211u001eThis efficiency wins the praise of police as well as court administrators, 211u001edefendants, and residents. The custom-designed computer software, the high 211u001ecommunity service compliance rates, and the positive response of defendants to 211u001ethe social service programs may indicate promising strategies. A National 211u001eInstitute of Justice-sponsored evaluation of the court is being conducted.