New York Times — Social and Economic Issues — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

How Far Can Cities Go to Police the Homeless? Boise Tests the Limit

“The suit arose when a half-dozen homeless people claimed that local rules prohibiting camping on public property violated the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The plaintiffs prevailed at the appellate level last year, putting the city at the center of a national debate on how to tackle homelessness. Now Boise — after hiring a powerhouse legal team that includes Theodore B. Olson and Theane Evangelis of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher — has asked the Supreme Court to take the case, a decision that could come within days.“

New York Times

December 3, 2019

Criminalizing PovertyPhillip ReevesDecember 3, 2019New York Times, Boise, IdahoComment

Next Arena for Criminal Justice Reform: A Roof Over Their Heads

“Sara Pratt, a civil rights lawyer and former fair housing official at HUD, said all landlords should “take the lead on being responsible on this and should take a second look at what reasonable criteria are.” But for all of the local efforts underway, she added, the answer was already on the books: the Fair Housing Act. It just needs to be enforced.“

New York Times

September 3, 2019

Economic IssuesPhillip ReevesSeptember 3, 2019New York Times, Fair Housing ActComment

Painting a distorted picture of crime 'spikes' in New York City

“But Watkins’s coverage moves the goal posts and relies heavily on simplistic police narratives. She first reports on an increase in homicides in Brooklyn, but when those decrease, she narrows in on murders in North Brooklyn. When those also go down, the reporting zooms in on two precincts—all while letting pro-police voices drive the narrative that there’s a worrying “spike” in crime. These articles are a study in how not to report on crime, given that such reporting will most likely influence how authorities police Black and Latinx neighborhoods.“

The Appeal

August 16, 2019

PersonalismPhillip ReevesAugust 16, 2019The Appeal, New York City, New York TimesComment

Sensationalist Tale of an Elderly Killer Feeds False Narrative

“The public’s perception of crime is often significantly out of alignment with the reality. This is caused, in part, by frequently sensationalist, decontextualized media coverage. Media Frame seeks to critique journalism on issues of policing and prisons, challenge the standard media formulas for crime coverage, and push media to radically rethink how they inform the public on matters of public safety.“

The Appeal

August 9, 2019

PersonalismPhillip ReevesAugust 9, 2019The Appeal, New York TimesComment

Is the Show ‘Cops’ Committing Crimes Itself?

“The podcast I host is the product of an 18-month investigation by me and my producers. What we found is that “Cops” is edited far more problematically than it lets on, that it consistently presents excessive force as good policing and that its structural reinforcement of racial stereotypes about criminality raises questions about the ethics of continuing to let the show remain on the air.“

New York Times

June 18, 2019

PersonalismPhillip ReevesJune 18, 2019New York Times, CopsComment

Reckoning With Violence

“Fifty-four percent of the people currently held in state prisons have been convicted of a crime classified as violent. We will never slash our prison population by 50 percent — the goal of a number of current campaigns — much less get back to levels of incarceration that we had before the race to incarcerate began in the early 1980s, without addressing the one issue most reformers avoid: violence.“

New York Times

March 3, 2019

Personalism, Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesMarch 3, 2019New York Times, Michelle Alexander, Danielle SeredComment

How Does Bail Work, and Why Do People Want to Get Rid of It?

“Abolishing bail, however, raises the question of whether additional measures to detain criminal defendants will be needed. In a news conference last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the criminal justice system needs not only “reform” but also “tightening up,” particularly through allowing judges to consider a defendant’s level of “dangerousness” before granting bail.“

New York Times

January 11, 2019

Bail ReformPhillip ReevesJanuary 11, 2019New York TimesComment

How Cities Make Money by Fining the Poor

“The jailing of poor defendants who cannot pay fines — a particularly insidious version of this revenue machine — has been ruled unconstitutional since a trio of Supreme Court cases spanning the 1970s and early 1980s. The first, Williams v. Illinois, involved a petty thief who was forced to remain in prison to pay off a fine, even after he had served his term. The second, Tate v. Short, hinged on a man in Texas named Preston Tate, who was assessed $425 in fines for several traffic violations.“

New York Times

January 8, 2019

Criminalizing Poverty, Bail ReformPhillip ReevesJanuary 8, 2019New York Times, Corinth, MississippiComment

Caught With Pot? Get-Out-of-Jail Program Comes With $950 Catch

"Many of the programs are entirely at the discretion of the local prosecutor, and while some are free or low-cost, others come with a hefty fee and can amount to pay-for-dismissal schemes, available only to those with money. "

New York Times

August 24, 2018

Diversion Programs, Opioid CrisisAnthony BradleyAugust 25, 2018New York Times

America Has Stopped Being a Civilized Nation

"Then too, there is the matter of our own dignity, the dignity of those of us in whose name and for whose “protection” the state has decided — in cold blood, with calm premeditation — to take a human life. We are not doing it out of fear or rage or insanity. We are doing it out of a primitive need for vengeance."

New York Times

August 12, 2018

Death RowAnthony BradleyAugust 15, 2018New York Times, Tennessee

Pope’s Death Penalty Stance Won’t Stop Execution, Nebraska’s Catholic Governor Says

"'While I respect the pope’s perspective, capital punishment remains the will of the people and the law of the state of Nebraska,' Mr. Ricketts’s statement said. 'It is an important tool to protect our corrections officers and public safety. The state continues to carry out the sentences ordered by the court'."

New York Times

August 3, 2018

Death RowAnthony BradleyAugust 6, 2018New York Times, Pope Francis, Nebraska, Pete Ricketts

The ‘Social Control’ Elements of New York’s Criminal Justice System

"Instead, she posits, the penal power exerts social control through what she describes as marking (identifying a defendant as a real or potential lawbreaker), procedural hassle (the ordeal of processing a case) and performance (an evaluation of the defendant’s subsequent behavior). How? By identifying recidivists on the basis of previous arrests alone, rather than convictions, and then subjecting them to more stringent oversight."

New York Times

July 26, 2018

OvercriminalizationAnthony BradleyJuly 31, 2018New York Times, New York City, Misdemeanorland

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