Brennan Center Recommendations

The Brennan Center for Justice Broad Recommendations

From the report ‘The Case for Community Defense in New Orleans’ (December 2006)

Reinvent Defender Culture

  • Draft a Mission Statement

  • Establish a physically separate office, the design of which reflects the agency’s mission.

  • For interdisciplinary hiring committees

  • Hire, or secure volunteer investigators and social workers to collaborate with legal staff

  • Tie performance evaluations to cross-staff collaboration and community outreach

 

Reach Out To Client Communities

  • Contact community groups and seek collaboration

  • Form a community advisory committee

  • Perform legal services in client communities

 

Investigate Police Misconduct and Help Clients Avoid Negative Police Interaction

  • Establish an internal police misconduct database

  • Conduct legal and ‘Know Your Rights’ trainings

 

Make Contacts with Social Service Providers and, Where Appropriate, Divert Clients at First Appearance

  • Conduct a survey of local social service providers

  • Where appropriate, divert clients at first appearance and tabulate the short- and long-term court- and jail-related savings

  • Play a greater role in the design of specialty courts

  • Where appropriate, encourage the use of diversion at arrest over post-plea specialty courts

 

Improve Communication with Clients

  • Work with the city to improve the jail visitation system

  • Where possible, contact clients’ family members at client’s request

  • Enable clients to review their police report upon its release

  • Develop an office-wide protocol for maintaining communication with clients while they are incarcerated

 

Facilitate Client Reentry at Front and Back Ends of the Criminal Justice Process

  • Advise clients of the collateral consequences of sentencing and plea arrangements and negotiate with judges and prosecutors to avoid the conferral of civil sanctions

  • Support legislation that increases employment opportunities and reduces civil barriers for people with criminal convictions

  • Where applicable, provide criminal record expungement services

  • Aid clients in procuring non-prison identification