New Tool Compares County Criminal Juistice Statistics for Wisconsin and other states

(Via WisBlawg..http://wisblawg.law.wisc.edu)

"Earlier this week, the nonprofit Measures for Justice launched an amazing new data portal “to assess and compare the criminal justice process from arrest to post-conviction on a county-by-county basis. The data set comprises measures that address three broad categories: Fiscal Responsibility, Fair Process, and Public Safety.”

According to The Marshall Project:

The project, which has as its motto “you can’t change what you can’t see,” centers on 32 “core measures”: yardsticks to determine how well local criminal justice systems are working. How often do people plead guilty without a lawyer? How often do prosecutors dismiss charges? How long do people have to wait for a court hearing? Users can also slice the answers to these questions in different ways, using “companion measures” such as race and political affiliation.

Just six states are included so far, but fortunately for us, Wisconsin is one of them.  The others are Washington, Utah, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida..."
Criminal justice statistics 

Rigged Justice: How Weak Enforcement Let Corporate Offenders Off Easy,

"United States Senator Elizabeth Warren today released a report titled Rigged Justice: How Weak Enforcement Lets Corporate Offenders Off Easy. The report, the first in an annual series on enforcement, highlights 20 of the most egregious civil and criminal cases during the past year in which federal settlements failed to require meaningful accountability to deter future wrongdoing and to protect taxpayers and families.

"Much of the public and media attention on Washington focuses on enacting laws. And strong laws are important - prosecutors must have the statutory tools they need to hold corporate criminals accountable," the report states. "But putting a law on the books is only the first step.  The second, and equally important, step is enforcing that law.  A law that is not enforced - or weakly enforced - may as well not even be a law at all."..."
Senator Elizabeth Warren

Let's Fix Our Criminal Justice System

"The Case for Reform

Over the last few decades, we've locked up more non-violent offenders than ever before — and for longer than ever.

Since he was a Senator, the President has noted that in too many cases, our criminal justice system represents a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails. And while he's since taken steps to address it, much of our criminal justice system remains unfair.

And people of all political persuasions, in both  are ready to do something about it..."
 
Criminal justice system

President Obama Announces 46 Commutations in Video Address: "America Is a Nation of Second Chances"

"As a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and criminal defense attorney, I'm well acquainted with how federal sentencing practices can, in too many instances, lead nonviolent drug offenders to spend decades, if not life, in prison. Now, don't get me wrong, many people are justly punished for causing harm and perpetuating violence in our communities. But, in some cases, the punishment required by law far exceeded the offense.

These unduly harsh sentences are one of the reasons the President is committed to using all the tools at his disposal to remedy unfairness in our criminal justice system. Today, he is continuing this effort by granting clemency to 46 men and women, nearly all of whom would have already served their time and returned to society if they were convicted of the exact same crime today..".
Presidential 46 commutations

Reducing Homeless Populations’ Involvement in the Criminal Justice System

"The Department of Justice has released a new guide, “Reducing Homeless Populations’ Involvement in the Criminal Justice System.”  The guide is intended to generate greater awareness in the field among law enforcement, courts, prosecutors, defenders, state and local legislators, advocates, social service providers, and the homeless about  Department of Justice resources available to serve homeless people, and those at risk of homelessness, who are involved in the criminal justice system..."
View complete guide