Community Court
Encyclopedia
In the United States
and several other countries, including the United Kingdom
, Canada
, and South Africa
, a community court is a neighborhood-focused court that applies a problem-solving approach to local crime and safety concerns. Community courts can take many forms, but all strive to create new relationships, both within the justice system and with outside stakeholders such as residents, merchants, churches and schools. Community courts emphasize collaboration, crime prevention, and improved outcomes, including lower recidivism and safer communities. Community courts are also sometimes referred to as community or neighborhood justice centers.
In Australia
, a community court is the name given to “indigenous court” proceedings conducted in the Magistrates Court of the Northern Territory
. (Australia also has a “neighbourhood justice centre” in [Melbourne], which is based on the U.S.-style community court.)
The first community court in the United States was the Midtown Community Court
, launched in 1993 in New York City
. The court, which serves the Times Square
neighborhood of Manhattan, targets quality-of-life offenses, such as prostitution, illegal vending, graffiti, shoplifting, farebeating, and vandalism.
Operated as a public/private partnership among the New York State Unified Court System, New York City
, and the Center for Court Innovation
the court initially opened as a three-year demonstration project, designed to test the ability of criminal courts to forge closer links with the community and develop a collaborative problem-solving approach to quality-of-life offenses.
The Midtown Court experiment was born of a profound frustration with the conventional response to quality-of-life crime. Supporters of the initiative, which included justice system innovators, business leaders and neighborhood residents, felt that the justice system did not take community concerns seriously. They also felt that a court could use its leverage to more effectively address the causes and conditions that contribute to crime.
Court planners sited the new court in a renovated 1896 building. The building featured clean, bright holding rooms secured with glass panels rather than bars, a pointed contrast to the typical holding pens. The new courthouse also included a full floor of office space for social workers to assist offenders. And the building was wired for an innovative computer system that would allow the judge, attorneys and social service workers to keep in touch with each other and quickly access a defendant’s full record.
Offenders at the Midtown Community Court are sentenced to pay back the community through work projects in the neighborhood—caring for street trees, getting rid of graffiti, cleaning subway stations and sorting recycled cans and bottles. At the same time, wherever possible, the court uses its legal leverage to link offenders with social services—drug treatment, health care, education—to help them address their problems. In these ways, the Midtown Community Court seeks to stem the chronic offending that demoralizes law-abiding residents.
Research conducted by the National Center for State Courts
http://www.ncsconline.org/ on the implementation and early effects of the Midtown Community Court over its first 18 months found that the project achieved its key operational objectives: to provide speedier justice; to make justice visible in the community where crimes take place; to encourage enforcement of low-level crime; to marshal the energy of local residents, organizations and businesses to collaborate on developing community service and social service projects; and to demonstrate that communities are victimized by quality-of-life offenses.
The researchers also credited the Midtown Court with changing conventional sentencing practices for low-level offenses, which were typically either sentences of “time served” (i.e., the time spent in jail between arrest and appearing in court) or short-term jail (a month or less). Sentencing at the Midtown Court produced significantly more intermediate sanctions than the city’s conventional arraignment court. Intermediate sanctions included immediate assignment to community restitution projects (with offenders often beginning their sentences within 24 hours of their arraignments) to mandatory participation in social services, such as drug treatment or job training.
In addition, the researchers found “substantial evidence” that the Midtown Court contributed to improvements in quality-of-life conditions in Times Square and surrounding neighborhoods. Together, ethnographic observations of local crime and safety “hot spots,” interviews with offenders, analysis of arrest data, focus group interviews and interviews with local police, community leaders and residents pointed to substantial reductions in concentrations of prostitution and unlicensed vending. Arrests for prostitution in the Midtown neighborhood dropped by 56 percent over the first 18 months and arrests for unlicensed vending fell by 24 percent, reflecting a visible reduction in criminal activity on the streets. Community members also reported a marked reduction in graffiti along Ninth Avenue, the commercial strip that serves the residential community.
By 1997, the Court was arraigning an average of 65 cases per day for an annual total of over 16,000 cases. This volume made the Midtown Court one of the busiest arraignment courts in the city. In addition, sentenced offenders were performing the equivalent of $175,000 worth of community restitution work per year. The Midtown Court’s emphasis on immediacy—offenders must report to the Court’s community service or social service center immediately after sentencing—also improved compliance rates. Nearly 75 percent complete their community restitution sentences as mandated, the highest rate in the city.
, community courts are animated by six key principles. They are:
Community courts in the United States include: Downtown San Diego Community Court Project (opened in October 2002); Denver Community Court (opened in September 2003); Hartford Community Court (opened in November 1998); Waterbury (Connecticut
) Community Court, opened in October 2000; Washington, D.C. – East of the River Community Court; Washington, D.C. – Traffic and Misdemeanor Community Court (opened in January 2002); West Palm Beach (Florida
) Community Court, opened in August 1999; Westgate Community Justice Center in Palm Beach County, Florida (opened in May 2006); Atlanta Community Court (opened in March 2000); Indianapolis
Community Court (opened in April 2001); Dakota County, Minnesota
, Community Court (opened in October 2002); Minneapolis – Hennepin County Community Court (opened in June 1999); St. Paul (Minnesota) Community Court (opened in 2000); Babylon (New York) Community Court, (opened in September 2006); Harlem Community Justice Center (opened in May 2001); Hempstead (New York) Community Court (opened in June 1999); Red Hook ( Brooklyn, New York) Community Justice Center (opened in April 2000); Syracuse (New York) Community Court (opened in July 2001); Gresham (Oregon
) Community Court (opened in March 1998); Westside Community Court in Portland, Oregon
(opened in April 2001); Overland Park Community Court in Clackamas County, Oregon (opened in January 2005); Philadelphia Community Court (opened in February 2002);
Frayser Community Court in Memphis, Tennessee
(opened in February 2000); Whitehaven Community Court in Memphis, Tennessee (opened in September 2002);
Downtown Austin
Community Court (opened in October 1999); South Dallas/Fair Park Community Court (opened in October 2004); West Dallas Community Court (opened November 2008); San Antonio Community Court (opened in May 2006); Seattle Community Court (opened in March 2005).
USA Today reported that interest in community courts was growing, citing new courts in the works in Newark, N.J., among other cities.
Based on the success of pilot community court projects in North Liverpool and Salford, in 2006 the British government announced plans to create 11 new community courts, all of which were up and running by early 2008. Seventeen community court projects are already in operation in South Africa. (In South Africa, the term “community court” also refers to a form of tribunal also known as Courts for Chiefs and Headmen; in these courts, an authorised African headman or his deputy may decide cases using indigenous law and custom, brought before him by an African against another African within his area of jurisdiction.)
The Collingwood Neighbourhood Justice Centre opened in Melbourne, Australia, in March 2007.
The Downtown Community Court opened in Vancouver, Canada, in 2008. The court addresses the Downtown Eastside
neighborhood. The court seeks both to reduce the harm caused to the community by crime and use collaborative case management to help offenders make long-term changes to their behavior. However, Laura Track, a lawyer and housing campaigner for Vancouver's Pivot Society, says there's a legal log jam ahead unless the government invests millions more in housing and treatment programs. This new court is presided over by Justice Thomas Gove.
A community court project is also being planned for Glasgow, Scotland.
The court allows the involvement of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the sentencing process. It allows senior members of the local community to be involved in and express their views upon the particular and to be part of the sentencing process. The Court is conducted in a fairly informal manner and is conducted with a view to enhance the reaching of an agreement between the involved parties as to the most appropriate sentence to impose. The court is innovative in that it incorporates the victim of the actual crime into the restorative process.
and Queensland
, each of those States have established separate and distinct courts to deal with indigenous offenders. Those courts are the Koori Court
and the Murri Court respectively. The Community Court is not established as a court in its own right. The court is actually the Court of Summary Jurisdiction, which is the Territory’s main criminal court dealing with summary criminal matters. Summary criminal matters are generally less serious criminal matters, as serious crime is dealt with the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
.
The court also differs in that it operates under guidelines established by the Chief Magistrate of the Northern Territory. Those guidelines are available on the Magistrates Court website. In other States, similar courts operate under special legislation. In New South Wales
, this is the “circle sentencing” legislation which is heard by the Local Court of New South Wales
. However, in practice, these distinctions make little difference to the manner in which each of the courts operate.
Participation in “indigenous courts” is voluntary, and offenders are eligible to participate only if they plead guilty to the offence or offences for which they have been charged. Participation in the program is available for any type of offence, although sexual assaults and domestic violence offences are usually not dealt with by the court. While participants in the court are involved in determining the appropriate sentence to be imposed upon an offender, the magistrate has the final say on the sentence imposed. In an Australian Law Reform Commission report, it was reported that participants in these types of court report higher levels of satisfaction with the system than the usual British based legal proceedings.
. The magistrate presides, facilitates, and ultimately determines the appropriate sentence for the offender. The magistrate is assisted by at least one community representative. The community representative provides the court with information on the background of the offender, as well as being able to point out the aspects of the offence as they relate to the offender, the impacts they have on the community and the effect it has had on the victim of the crime.
The prosecutor continues to present the facts of the case and makes submissions as necessary on the crime. The offender participates in the process by agreeing to adhere to the community process involved. Lastly, the victim is encouraged to be part of the process and to outline the impact of the crime upon them. However, it is not compulsory for the victim to be involved if they do not wish to.
The court clerk reads the charge and the offender reaffirms their earlier guilty plea to the community. The prosecutor reads out the “fact” of the crime. This is a narrative of the events that constitute the crime. This narrative has been agreed to before court as being accurate and a fair representation of what actually occurred. Each participant is then given an opportunity to speak about the offence. At the end of this, there may be a general discussion of the impact of the offence.
At the conclusion of this, the offender and the prosecutor make formal submissions to the court about the sentence. The community representatives then have an opportunity to make comments on those submissions. Lastly, the presiding magistrate determines the appropriate sentence to impose.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and several other countries, including the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, a community court is a neighborhood-focused court that applies a problem-solving approach to local crime and safety concerns. Community courts can take many forms, but all strive to create new relationships, both within the justice system and with outside stakeholders such as residents, merchants, churches and schools. Community courts emphasize collaboration, crime prevention, and improved outcomes, including lower recidivism and safer communities. Community courts are also sometimes referred to as community or neighborhood justice centers.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, a community court is the name given to “indigenous court” proceedings conducted in the Magistrates Court of the Northern Territory
Magistrates Court of the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory Magistrates Courts is the generic name given to the lower courts constituted by magistrates and justices of the peace in the Northern Territory, a territory of Australia. There is no actual magistrates court, and the reference to the court is usually a reference to the...
. (Australia also has a “neighbourhood justice centre” in [Melbourne], which is based on the U.S.-style community court.)
Midtown Community Court
Midtown Community Court
The Midtown Community Court is a municipal court of law established in 1993 in the Times Square neighborhood of New York City. The court focuses on quality-of-life offenses, such as prostitution, shoplifting, farebeating and vandalism...
, launched in 1993 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The court, which serves the Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
neighborhood of Manhattan, targets quality-of-life offenses, such as prostitution, illegal vending, graffiti, shoplifting, farebeating, and vandalism.
Operated as a public/private partnership among the New York State Unified Court System, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and the Center for Court Innovation
Center for Court Innovation
The Center for Court Innovation is a non-profit think tank headquartered in New York that helps courts and criminal justice agencies aid victims, reduce crime and improve public trust in justice....
the court initially opened as a three-year demonstration project, designed to test the ability of criminal courts to forge closer links with the community and develop a collaborative problem-solving approach to quality-of-life offenses.
The Midtown Court experiment was born of a profound frustration with the conventional response to quality-of-life crime. Supporters of the initiative, which included justice system innovators, business leaders and neighborhood residents, felt that the justice system did not take community concerns seriously. They also felt that a court could use its leverage to more effectively address the causes and conditions that contribute to crime.
Court planners sited the new court in a renovated 1896 building. The building featured clean, bright holding rooms secured with glass panels rather than bars, a pointed contrast to the typical holding pens. The new courthouse also included a full floor of office space for social workers to assist offenders. And the building was wired for an innovative computer system that would allow the judge, attorneys and social service workers to keep in touch with each other and quickly access a defendant’s full record.
Offenders at the Midtown Community Court are sentenced to pay back the community through work projects in the neighborhood—caring for street trees, getting rid of graffiti, cleaning subway stations and sorting recycled cans and bottles. At the same time, wherever possible, the court uses its legal leverage to link offenders with social services—drug treatment, health care, education—to help them address their problems. In these ways, the Midtown Community Court seeks to stem the chronic offending that demoralizes law-abiding residents.
Research conducted by the National Center for State Courts
National Center for State Courts
The National Center for State Courts is a non-profit organization charged with improving judicial administration in the United States and around the world...
http://www.ncsconline.org/ on the implementation and early effects of the Midtown Community Court over its first 18 months found that the project achieved its key operational objectives: to provide speedier justice; to make justice visible in the community where crimes take place; to encourage enforcement of low-level crime; to marshal the energy of local residents, organizations and businesses to collaborate on developing community service and social service projects; and to demonstrate that communities are victimized by quality-of-life offenses.
The researchers also credited the Midtown Court with changing conventional sentencing practices for low-level offenses, which were typically either sentences of “time served” (i.e., the time spent in jail between arrest and appearing in court) or short-term jail (a month or less). Sentencing at the Midtown Court produced significantly more intermediate sanctions than the city’s conventional arraignment court. Intermediate sanctions included immediate assignment to community restitution projects (with offenders often beginning their sentences within 24 hours of their arraignments) to mandatory participation in social services, such as drug treatment or job training.
In addition, the researchers found “substantial evidence” that the Midtown Court contributed to improvements in quality-of-life conditions in Times Square and surrounding neighborhoods. Together, ethnographic observations of local crime and safety “hot spots,” interviews with offenders, analysis of arrest data, focus group interviews and interviews with local police, community leaders and residents pointed to substantial reductions in concentrations of prostitution and unlicensed vending. Arrests for prostitution in the Midtown neighborhood dropped by 56 percent over the first 18 months and arrests for unlicensed vending fell by 24 percent, reflecting a visible reduction in criminal activity on the streets. Community members also reported a marked reduction in graffiti along Ninth Avenue, the commercial strip that serves the residential community.
By 1997, the Court was arraigning an average of 65 cases per day for an annual total of over 16,000 cases. This volume made the Midtown Court one of the busiest arraignment courts in the city. In addition, sentenced offenders were performing the equivalent of $175,000 worth of community restitution work per year. The Midtown Court’s emphasis on immediacy—offenders must report to the Court’s community service or social service center immediately after sentencing—also improved compliance rates. Nearly 75 percent complete their community restitution sentences as mandated, the highest rate in the city.
Principles of community courts
According to the Center for Court InnovationCenter for Court Innovation
The Center for Court Innovation is a non-profit think tank headquartered in New York that helps courts and criminal justice agencies aid victims, reduce crime and improve public trust in justice....
, community courts are animated by six key principles. They are:
- Restoring the community:
- Bridging the gap between communities and courts;
- Knitting together a fractured criminal justice system;
- Helping offenders deal with problems that lead to crime;
- Providing the courts with better information; and
- Building a physical courthouse that reflects these ambitions.
Replication of the community court model
Over 30 community courts, inspired by the model of the Midtown Community Court, are in operation or planning around the U.S. Although different in many ways, the various U.S. community courts all strive to create new relationships, both within the justice system and with outside stakeholders, such as residents, merchants, churches and schools. They also test new and aggressive approaches to public safety.Community courts in the United States include: Downtown San Diego Community Court Project (opened in October 2002); Denver Community Court (opened in September 2003); Hartford Community Court (opened in November 1998); Waterbury (Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
) Community Court, opened in October 2000; Washington, D.C. – East of the River Community Court; Washington, D.C. – Traffic and Misdemeanor Community Court (opened in January 2002); West Palm Beach (Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
) Community Court, opened in August 1999; Westgate Community Justice Center in Palm Beach County, Florida (opened in May 2006); Atlanta Community Court (opened in March 2000); Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
Community Court (opened in April 2001); Dakota County, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Community Court (opened in October 2002); Minneapolis – Hennepin County Community Court (opened in June 1999); St. Paul (Minnesota) Community Court (opened in 2000); Babylon (New York) Community Court, (opened in September 2006); Harlem Community Justice Center (opened in May 2001); Hempstead (New York) Community Court (opened in June 1999); Red Hook ( Brooklyn, New York) Community Justice Center (opened in April 2000); Syracuse (New York) Community Court (opened in July 2001); Gresham (Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
) Community Court (opened in March 1998); Westside Community Court in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
(opened in April 2001); Overland Park Community Court in Clackamas County, Oregon (opened in January 2005); Philadelphia Community Court (opened in February 2002);
Frayser Community Court in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
(opened in February 2000); Whitehaven Community Court in Memphis, Tennessee (opened in September 2002);
Downtown Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
Community Court (opened in October 1999); South Dallas/Fair Park Community Court (opened in October 2004); West Dallas Community Court (opened November 2008); San Antonio Community Court (opened in May 2006); Seattle Community Court (opened in March 2005).
USA Today reported that interest in community courts was growing, citing new courts in the works in Newark, N.J., among other cities.
American-style community courts outside the U.S.
Interest in the American community court model is also increasing abroad. A report by the Open Society Institute issued in 2008 found that by the end of 2007, 52 community courts were operational around the globe. The report said an additional 27 new courts were slated to open in coming years.Based on the success of pilot community court projects in North Liverpool and Salford, in 2006 the British government announced plans to create 11 new community courts, all of which were up and running by early 2008. Seventeen community court projects are already in operation in South Africa. (In South Africa, the term “community court” also refers to a form of tribunal also known as Courts for Chiefs and Headmen; in these courts, an authorised African headman or his deputy may decide cases using indigenous law and custom, brought before him by an African against another African within his area of jurisdiction.)
The Collingwood Neighbourhood Justice Centre opened in Melbourne, Australia, in March 2007.
The Downtown Community Court opened in Vancouver, Canada, in 2008. The court addresses the Downtown Eastside
Downtown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....
neighborhood. The court seeks both to reduce the harm caused to the community by crime and use collaborative case management to help offenders make long-term changes to their behavior. However, Laura Track, a lawyer and housing campaigner for Vancouver's Pivot Society, says there's a legal log jam ahead unless the government invests millions more in housing and treatment programs. This new court is presided over by Justice Thomas Gove.
A community court project is also being planned for Glasgow, Scotland.
Community courts in Australia
In Australia, the “community court” is not an actual court, but is the commonly referred designation of the Court of Summary Jurisdiction of the Northern Territory when dealing with indigenous offenders accused of crime. This is to show its distinction from the usual procedures involved in that criminal court. The court commenced as a twelve month trial in Darwin and still continues today. At present, the court only sits in Darwin. However, there is no barrier to the court sitting outside Darwin if the court determines that it is necessary to do so.The court allows the involvement of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the sentencing process. It allows senior members of the local community to be involved in and express their views upon the particular and to be part of the sentencing process. The Court is conducted in a fairly informal manner and is conducted with a view to enhance the reaching of an agreement between the involved parties as to the most appropriate sentence to impose. The court is innovative in that it incorporates the victim of the actual crime into the restorative process.
Jurisdiction
The establishment of the court differs from other indigenous courts established around Australia. In VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, each of those States have established separate and distinct courts to deal with indigenous offenders. Those courts are the Koori Court
Koori Court
A Koori Court is a division of the Magistrate's court in Victoria, Australia, that sentences Indigenous Australians who pleaded guilty. Koori Courts were created in order to allow participation of the Aboriginal community and culture in the legal system, in an attempt to bridge the cultural...
and the Murri Court respectively. The Community Court is not established as a court in its own right. The court is actually the Court of Summary Jurisdiction, which is the Territory’s main criminal court dealing with summary criminal matters. Summary criminal matters are generally less serious criminal matters, as serious crime is dealt with the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory is the superior court for the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters...
.
The court also differs in that it operates under guidelines established by the Chief Magistrate of the Northern Territory. Those guidelines are available on the Magistrates Court website. In other States, similar courts operate under special legislation. In New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, this is the “circle sentencing” legislation which is heard by the Local Court of New South Wales
Local Court of New South Wales
There are over 160 Local Courts in New South Wales. Local Court cases are heard by a magistrate without a jury. It hears summary offences as well as indictable offences and committal hearings. It hears civil claims up to $100,000 and has a Small Claims Division for claims less than $10,000. It...
. However, in practice, these distinctions make little difference to the manner in which each of the courts operate.
Participation in “indigenous courts” is voluntary, and offenders are eligible to participate only if they plead guilty to the offence or offences for which they have been charged. Participation in the program is available for any type of offence, although sexual assaults and domestic violence offences are usually not dealt with by the court. While participants in the court are involved in determining the appropriate sentence to be imposed upon an offender, the magistrate has the final say on the sentence imposed. In an Australian Law Reform Commission report, it was reported that participants in these types of court report higher levels of satisfaction with the system than the usual British based legal proceedings.
Constitution of the court
As the court is actually a Court of Summary Jurisdiction, the court is constituted by a magistrateMagistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
. The magistrate presides, facilitates, and ultimately determines the appropriate sentence for the offender. The magistrate is assisted by at least one community representative. The community representative provides the court with information on the background of the offender, as well as being able to point out the aspects of the offence as they relate to the offender, the impacts they have on the community and the effect it has had on the victim of the crime.
The prosecutor continues to present the facts of the case and makes submissions as necessary on the crime. The offender participates in the process by agreeing to adhere to the community process involved. Lastly, the victim is encouraged to be part of the process and to outline the impact of the crime upon them. However, it is not compulsory for the victim to be involved if they do not wish to.
Procedure
The court begins with the participants arranged in a circle in the venue. The presiding magistrate opens the court and explains the process of the court and the role of the various participants in the proceedings. Each participant introduces themselves, explaining who they, and their relationship to the offender.The court clerk reads the charge and the offender reaffirms their earlier guilty plea to the community. The prosecutor reads out the “fact” of the crime. This is a narrative of the events that constitute the crime. This narrative has been agreed to before court as being accurate and a fair representation of what actually occurred. Each participant is then given an opportunity to speak about the offence. At the end of this, there may be a general discussion of the impact of the offence.
At the conclusion of this, the offender and the prosecutor make formal submissions to the court about the sentence. The community representatives then have an opportunity to make comments on those submissions. Lastly, the presiding magistrate determines the appropriate sentence to impose.
Appeals
As the proceedings are actually a case in the Court of Summary Jurisdiction, all the usual appeal processes that apply in that court continue to apply.Sources
- Marchetti and Daly (2004), ‘Indigenous courts and justice practices in Australia’, Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No. 277.
- YOUTH JUSTICE CONFERENCING AND RE-OFFENDING, Hennessey Hayes & Kathleen Daly, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/ccj/kdaly_docs/daly_pt2_paper_3b.pdf and http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/ccj/kdaly_docs/kdaly_paper_17.rtf
- Crime Prevention and Socio-Legal Reform on Aboriginal Communities in Queensland by Barbara Miller, Aboriginal Law Bulletin, [1991] AboriginalLB 18, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLB/1991/18.html
- Recidivism in the Northern Territory: Adult Prisoners Released in 2001-02, Joe Yick & Peter Warner http://aic.gov.au/conferences/2005-abs/yick.pdf
- Chief Magistrate’s Guidelines on Community Courts, 27 May 2005.