Hope for community corrections

In this month's Washington Monthly:

Jail Break - How smarter parole and probation can cut the nation’s incarceration rate

If we want to end the era of mass incarceration and replace it with a regime of less punishment and less crime, drug testing is only one of the ways to apply the central lesson of HOPE ("Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement"): that clearly communicated threats of swift, certain punishment really can change behavior, even when the punishment is modest. By thinking creatively, we could transform the entire range of community-based punishments into effective alternatives to incarceration. That would have a profound impact on offenders’ lives, on the number of people behind bars, and on the crime rate...

The book is When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment, by Mark Kleiman.

Via The Second Road, "where life intersects with recovery."

HI: "you can't subject the Constitution to budget cuts"

When it comes to cuts, things are no different in the islands; from the Maui News:

Furloughs leave defendants in a bind - Public defender office closures affecting courtroom schedules

The Office of the Public Defender, which includes a dozen attorneys on Maui, will be shut down three Fridays each month to comply with state worker furloughs required by Gov. Linda Lingle. The closures, scheduled to begin July 1, have affected some courtroom schedules on Maui and Molokai and have raised concerns about representation...

"They have the right to counsel. We have to adhere to the Constitution," said Jim Rouse, one of eight deputy public defenders assigned to... Maui County felony cases. "You can't, just because of budget constraints, eliminate fundamental rights guaranteed to all Americans..."

"It's not like anybody's getting rich being a public defender. You're a public defender because you're idealistic, you believe in the Constitution, you believe people are entitled to help. You do it with passion. You do it with vigor. Now they're telling us you have to do it 14 percent less of the time..."

Individual P.D.'s offices are no different either, it seems. Like the coat rack? Any bets those aren't client go-to-court clothes?

"You play the organ like a madwoman"

Llama the prosecutor sends a little love our way:

I'll give a shout out to the public defenders -- the PD from my courtroom today had seven people in custody, plus at least twenty-some clients to represent. Imagine having to give competent legal advice to all of those people...

HI: putting down the p.d., island style

Where's the Aloha Spirit for the p. d.? Auntie Pupule calls one of us:

Dat Mean Public Defender!!!

She speaks loud with authority. She supposed to be the one helping the defendants but she sounds like a mad school teacher ready to give a paddling. Honest...

But one of her commenters says:

But I won't lie I really respected the PD. She was genuinely looking out for my best interest... I know one thing for sure NO WAY would I want to be on the opposite of her. LOL Sistah no play dat! HAHAHA