Donor Diversity through Public Matching Funds

In May, the Brennan Center for Justice and the Campaign Finance Institute released a report on how public financing improves diversity of small donors and changes how candidates view potential donors and potential constituents. The report’s authors note that the data set is rather small, but the tre...
August 23, 2012

Policy Brief: Early Case Assessment in Urban Jurisdictions

The twin goals of early case assessment are to devote more resources to those cases for which a conviction can confidently be obtained, and also to decline to prosecute, reduce charges, or divert other cases. Our Early Case Assessment Policy Brief takes a look at how the District Attorney's Offices...
August 21, 2012

It’s Time to Coordinate on Diversion

This piece originally appeared at the Huffington Post.  In response to growing concern about violent crime and shrinking budgets, public officials have adopted a number of initiatives to prioritize use of scarce resources. And despite an ordinance requiring a cooperative approach to diversion of of...
August 18, 2012

Links of Interest: August 5-10, 2012

Judicial Performance and Elections Senator Lindsey Graham, speaking at the ABA Annual Meeting this week, said that judicial qualifications should count more than politics. Information and statistics on federal judicial vacancies is available from the American Constitution Society and the Brookin...
August 10, 2012

Center for Civil Rights Remedies Report on Disparities in School Discipline

The National Appleseed network works to reduce social injustice by analyzing inequities in public systems and suggesting reforms to balance the systems. Many Appleseed affiliates, Chicago among them, are engaged in research and advocacy to ensure that educational opportunities are equally available...
August 8, 2012