Thursday, November 14, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, April 14, 2016
Federal Grant Backs New Honolulu Homeless Court
By News Release @ 1:45 AM :: 6003 Views :: Homelessness, Judiciary

Prosecutor’s Office Awarded Department of Justice Grant to Implement Community Court

News Release from Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office April 13, 2016 

The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office was one of 10 applicants nationwide announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, in partnership with the Center for Court Innovation, as a 2016 Community Court Grant Program winner.

Honolulu Community Outreach Court will receive $200,000, as well as technical assistance from the Center for Court Innovation to implement a community court serving the City and County of Honolulu.

The State Legislature also is considering an appropriations request of $612,610 to support the court.

The selected community court sites were announced at the Community Justice 2016 International Summit in Chicago. More than 70 applications were received.

Honolulu Community Outreach Court – the product of collaboration between Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro, Deputy Chief District Court Judge Barbara Richardson and Public Defender Jack Tonaki – seeks to quickly resolve low-level, non-violent cases involving defendants who fail to appear at hearings.

Many of these offenders are homeless and have substance abuse or mental health issues that have contributed to repeated non-compliance. The goal is to help them resolve their legal problems without fines or incarceration while also maintaining accountability and respect for the law.

Honolulu Community Court will be mobile so it can be brought to offenders at sites across Oahu. Defendants who agree to plea deals will be offered alternative sentences such as community service or enrollment in court-ordered treatment.

This will “give the justice system more meaningful options when handling non-violent offenses, as well as offer assistance to non-violent offenders who face a myriad of problems such as mental health, poverty and homelessness,” Kaneshiro and Judge Richardson said in a statement.

For information about the community court model, go to: www.courtinnovation.org/topic/community-court

---30---

Grant To Help Court Address Backlog

CB: …The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office has received a $200,000 federal grant to implement a community court that is intended to help resolve a backlog of over 11,000 low-level, non-violent cases.

They include 2,173 cases involving drinking liquor in public places; 1,146 cases relating to smoking in public; and 8,067 cases involving violations of park rules, such as sleeping in a public park when it’s closed….

read … Backlog  

SA: City might establish a mobile court house to handle cases involving homeless

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii