Section 7

Supporting Innovation in Adjudication

Overview

Increasing fairness and public trust in the justice system is an OJP priority. Special efforts must be made to address challenging and diverse problems throughout the court system. Through investments in innovative initiatives such as problem-solving courts, effective case flow management, community prosecution, indigent defense, and reentry efforts, OJP has helped jurisdictions realize measurable gains in public trust, while also increasing capacity and reducing crime.

OJP’s integrated approach to justice reform engages the community and promotes multidisciplinary collaboration and training on issues that advance public safety. This approach, especially with regard to policy decisions and resource allocation, ensures that communities are able effectively to utilize a limited pool of available resources to address social and economic issues related to incarceration. While local court personnel will decide how to meet the community’s specific needs, OJP is committed to providing the resources, tools, and support to help them test their ideas.

Adjudication programs and initiatives address each phase of the criminal justice cycle, from pretrial risk assessments and pre-adjudication diversion initiatives to community-oriented justice to effectively addressing reentry. These efforts are aimed at shifting the policy-making paradigm towards community-strengthening investments instead of increased incarceration. Through close partnerships with stakeholders and national organizations, OJP supports jurisdictions with training and technical assistance, enabling them to address inefficiencies in their programs during various stages of the adjudication process. OJP also relies on field practitioners to provide valuable insight on developing targeted, sustainable solutions nationwide.

In addition to the initiatives listed in this chapter, OJP is addressing training and technical assistance needs for indigent defense; providing training and technical assistance for criminal courts to improve their management and operations; and providing training on the " CSI effect" and other issues surrounding juror bias. As we look forward, OJP will target emerging issues that courts need to address, including the increasing numbers of senior citizens in the court process, mortgage fraud, and racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

Discretionary Programs

Program Name Wrongful Conviction Review Program
FY 2012 Funding $687,525
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.bja.gov/funding.aspx
Program Contact Catherine McNamee, (202) 514-9343, Catherine.McNamee@usdoj.gov
Program Description
The Wrongful Conviction Review Program seeks to provide high quality representation for defendants with post-conviction claims of innocence. Post-conviction innocence claims are likely to include complex challenges to the reliability and accuracy of evidence presented at trial. Problematic evidence falls into three categories—eyewitness identification evidence, confession evidence, and forensic evidence. In some cases, post-conviction DNA testing alone can prove innocence, but the majority of cases require other, more costly forms of proof, including DNA testing and expert testimony. The goals of this initiative are to provide quality representation to the wrongfully convicted; to alleviate burdens placed on the criminal justice system through costly and prolonged post-conviction litigation; and to identify, when possible, the actual perpetrator of the crime.

Program Name Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative (SWBPI)
FY 2012 Funding $8,988,415 (includes Northern Border Prosecution Initiative)
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.ojp.usdoj.gov/swbpi/index.html
Program Contact Joe Husted, (202) 353-4411, Joseph.Husted@usdoj.gov
Program Description
This initiative provides funds to eligible jurisdictions in the four southwest border states (Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas) for qualifying federally initiated and declined-referred criminal cases that were disposed of after October 1, 2005. Successful applicants may use their federal funds for any lawful purpose. A federally initiated and referred criminal case is eligible if it was prosecuted by a state or county prosecutor and disposed of during one of the eligibility periods. Jurisdictions providing pretrial detention for eligible case defendants are also eligible for funds. Federally referred cases that are declined and not prosecuted by state or county prosecutors are ineligible. Jurisdictions participating in the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program are permitted to apply.

Program Name Northern Border Prosecution Initiative (NBPI)
FY 2012 Funding $8,988,415 (includes Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative)
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nbpi/
Program Contact Joe Husted, (202) 353-4411, Joseph.Husted@usdoj.gov
Program Description
This initiative provides funds to eligible jurisdictions in the 14 northern border states (Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin) for qualifying federally initiated and declined-referred criminal cases that were disposed of after October 1, 2005. Although reimbursements from NBPI federal payments may be used by applicant jurisdictions for any purpose not otherwise prohibited by federal law, using funds to support and enhance additional prosecutorial and detention services is encouraged. A federally initiated and referred criminal case is eligible if it was prosecuted by a state or county prosecutor and disposed of during one of the eligibility periods. Jurisdictions providing pretrial detention for eligible case defendants are also eligible for funds. Federally referred cases that are declined and not prosecuted by state or county prosecutors are ineligible. Jurisdictions participating in the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program are permitted to apply.

Training and Technical Assistance

Program Name Capital Case Litigation Initiative (CCLI)
FY 2012 Funding $2,000,000
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.bja.gov/funding.aspx
Program Contact Alissa Huntoon, (202) 305-1661, Alissa.Huntoon@usdoj.gov
Program Description
This initiative is designed to provide high quality training and technical assistance on death penalty issues to judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors. Program goals are to increase the number of court officials trained in capital case procedures and strategies and to ensure that defense attorneys and prosecutors have the most up-to-date and comprehensive information available on death penalty litigation. BJA will continue to improve the quality of capital case litigation training by requiring states to utilize curricula that have been developed and piloted specifically for prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Program Name Tribal Criminal and Civil Legal Assistance (TCCLA)
FY 2012 Funding $2,250,000
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.bja.gov/funding.aspx
Program Contact Norena Henry, (202) 616-3205, Norena.henry@usdoj.gov
Program Description
The TCCLA program helps enhance the operations of tribal justice systems and improves access to those systems. TCCLA provides grants to organizations to provide legal services for indigent defendants and respondents in tribal justice systems. In addition, this solicitation calls for applications to provide training and technical assistance for the development, enrichment, and enhancement of judicial system personnel and practices within tribal justice systems. Eligible organizations for direct service grants are tribal and non-tribal non-profit (Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) § 501(c)(3)) entities, including tribal enterprises and educational institutions (public, private and tribal colleges and universities), that provide legal assistance services for federally recognized Indian tribes; members of federally recognized Indian tribes; or tribal justice systems pursuant to federal poverty guidelines. Eligible organizations for the training and technical assistance grants are national or regional membership organizations and associations whose membership or membership section consists of judicial system personnel within tribal justice systems.

Research and Statistical Programs

Program Name National Pretrial Reporting Program
FY 2011 Funding $250,000
OJP Sponsor BJS
Web Link bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/
Program Contact Howard Snyder, (202) 616-8305, Howard.Snyder@usdoj.gov
Program Description
Traditionally, BJS has collected pretrial data at the state court level through the State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program. SCPS, however, has several key limitations including the fact that it does not obtain data on several key pretrial elements and is limited to felony case processing in the nation’s 75 most populous counties. The National Pretrial Reporting Program (NPRP) will attempt to expand BJS’ pretrial research capacity by examining the methods in which defendants can be released or detained in state trial courts. It will aim to identify the types of pretrial release methods (e.g., surety bond, pretrial diversion programs, and release on recognizance) utilized in all 3,100 counties and ascertain the availability of obtaining specific pretrial data for each surveyed county. The work would explore appropriate data sources such as courts, pretrial service agencies, pretrial supervision organizations, and other relevant entities in an effort to develop a nationally representative framework for tracking defendants released through various pretrial mechanisms in state courts.

Program Name Social Science Research on Indigent Defense
FY 2012 Funding $1,000,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link www.nij.gov/funding/welcome.htm
Program Contact Nadine Frederique, (202) 514-8777, Nadine.Frederique@usdoj.gov or Donna Davis (202) 514-9331, Donna.Davis@usdoj.gov
Program Description
NIJ seeks to fund research that can help with understanding the barriers faced by indigent criminal defendants to securing legal representation; offering recommendations to address these barriers; and disseminating the recommendations in a practical and easily accessible manner to practitioners across the United States.