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The Newark Experience

Municipal Court

The Courts

Police, Courts, and Corrections: Experiences of Procedural Injustice Among Black Adults
Andrew Martinez, Rachel Swaner, Cassandra Ramdath, and Katherine Kusiak Carey. American Journal of Community Psychology71(1-2), March 2023, pp. 147-157
"Using a procedural injustice lens, this study examines how justice‐involved Black adults experience mistreatment by justice system actors. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 84 Black adults in Newark and Cleveland. Study findings offer a comprehensive account of how participants experience procedural injustice as arrestees, defendants, and incarcerated persons." Rutgers-restricted Access
The Processing of Homicides in the Courts: An Examination of Multiple Case Outcomes
Jesenia M. Pizarro, Kristen M. Zgoba, Laura M. Salerno, and Giovanni Circo. Race and Justice 10(4), October 2020, pp. 400-423.
"The current study employs focal concerns theory to address the role that race/ethnicity plays on various court dispositions of homicide offenders in Newark, NJ, a location where the majority of residents are African American and Latino." Rutgers-restricted Access
"Formal Rationality, Substantive Justice, and Discrimination: A Study of a Juvenile Court"
Allan Horwitz and Michael Wasserman. Law and Human Behavior 4(1-2), March 1980, pp. 103-115.
Examines the extent to which a juvenile court uses legal, substantive, and discriminatory criteria in assessing disposition. Uses data obtained from police & court records of 464 adolescents aged 14-15, arrested in Newark, NJ, in 1973. Rutgers-restricted Access
"Some Misleading Conceptions in Sentencing Research: An Example and a Reformation in the Juvenile Court"
Allan Horwitz and Michael Wasserman. Criminology 18(3), November 1980, pp.411-424.
Based on an examination of 464 Newark, NJ, case records involving 14- & 15-year-olds arrested in 1973, it was found that social background variables were more important determinants of disposition than either "legal" or "extralegal" ones. Rutgers-restricted Access
"A New Newark: Rekindling Hope with New Community Courts"
Barbara Rose. ABA Journal 97(11), November 2011, pp.4
The Newark Community Solutions community court opened in early 2011 in the Newark Municipal Court. The community court promotes alternative sentencing to reduce recidivism and raise public trust in the courts. Rutgers-restricted Access
Legitimation in Action: An Examination of Community Courts and Procedural Justice
Tyrell A. Connor. Journal of Crime and Justice 42(2), 2019, pp. 161-183.
"Using the theoretical framework of procedural justice, this study examines the way community courts attempt to achieve such reform. Observations, field notes, and interviews were taken over a three-month time period in three community courts: Midtown, Red Hook, and Newark. The findings illustrate the various ways judges in community courts practice and apply principles of procedural justice. Furthermore, this paper highlights findings that demonstrate how certain courtroom practices and procedures may be potentially problematic to procedural justice.