While statistics on the number and percentage of persons formally accused of crime who are detained in custody pending trial are problematic, available evidence suggests that in practice, pretrial detention is far from being the “exception to the rule” that international law demands. In many countries the international standards are not observed. Globally, at any…
This Friday, I want to feature something a little different. Not an organization, but a little-known new UN Resolution which is truly groundbreaking. In a number of countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, access to legal services (even when accused of a crime) is unfortunately not a guaranteed human right. In the U.S., our…
Recently, I’ve been thinking about the racialized nature of the criminal justice system in our country. In my work, I encounter a lot of police brutality and misconduct cases in Washington D.C. and the unfortunate truth is that police in this country are given an enormous amount of discretion on how to treat everyday people. That…
I’m incredibly excited that one of my favorite organizations – International Bridges to Justice – has launched a TED talk by Founder & CEO, Karen Tse. IBJ is also featured as #3 on Huffington Post’s “Best of TED 2011 Countdown.” Take a few minutes to watch Karen’s talk below — and to join us in…
I was thrilled to find this TEDxZurich talk by Karen Tse, Founder and CEO of International Bridges to Justice (IBJ). I previously interned with IBJ and to this day, credit my time there for sparking my passion for access to justice issues. IBJ is an incredible and innovative organization that works to end torture worldwide…
In the past year, I’ve found myself increasingly focusing on women’s rights, sexual/gender-based violence issues, and the legal system in relation to protecting women’s rights. In large part, this is due to my volunteer work with JFAO, a rule of law organization providing legal services to women in Afghanistan. I can’t tell you how much…
My work with legal and access to justice non-profits has starkly highlighted to me the importance and necessity of holistic advocacy, and yet the unfortunate rarity of the practice. As I’ve written here before, holistic advocacy is simply the idea that social problems are all deeply interrelated and thus require service delivery non-profits to focus…
My inspiring story of the day (other than, you know, all the protests happening in Bahrain, Wisconsin, etc..) was about an innovative mobile gender justice court prosecuting perpetrators of sexual violence and rape in Congo. The court is trying eleven soldiers, responsible for a mass rape on New Year’s Day of dozens of women and…
This quote from an article I read a few weeks ago, “Making Good on the Girl Effect” truly stuck with me. It echoed thoughts that have been rattling around inside my brain for quite a while, but which never quite made it to the computer screen. We must globalize the local and localize the global….
I loved the idea of the Center for Court Innovation, a non-profit and think tank, the first time I ran across it. The organization, created via a public/private partnership, works to improve the functioning of the court system by using innovative methods and structures. The focus is primarily on helping courts and criminal justice agencies…
