The power of dignity How transforming justice can heal our communities

Weaving together hope and optimism, Judge Pratt shows the ways that communities and courtrooms are intrinsically connected to each other. Pratt, a professor at Rutgers University, advocates for using procedural justice paired with alternative sentencing. Her approach to the court system is based on the principles of voice, neutrality, respect, and trust. These four pillars bolster reciprocity between individuals being sentenced and judges doling out consequences. Clearly laying out how this method has transformed the judicial system, Pratt goes on to detail its ability to empower those convicted of crimes, especially for those dealing with racism, generational trauma, mental health, and addiction. Beyond that, outcomes led by this method can instill trust between judge and defendant. Pratt underscores the importance of bridging understanding among court participants and allowing them to share their stories. She shows up for those in court, looks them in the eye when sentencing them, and, in doing so, refuses to dehumanize them. Throughout, Pratt alternates between her own meditation on the judicial system and the stories of those who have passed through her Newark courtroom. Her research, backed up by these experiences, makes her deeply personal, beautifully written debut all the more impactful.

A criminal justice professor and former judge discusses how courts can foster trust among the criminal offenders and victims the American legal system too often dehumanizes. When Pratt was appointed as a Newark Municipal Court judge in 2009, she quickly realized that her work "wasn't making a difference." The people she saw in her courtroom were poor, hungry, traumatized, and, more often than not, from marginalized communities. Courts offered no guidance on the court process, and the punishments meted out to the defendants did little to improve outcomes for them, the justice system, or society as a whole. As the daughter of working-class parents of color, Pratt sympathized with their many challenges. Pratt, who teaches at the Rutgers Newark School of Criminal Justice, soon decided that her role as judge was "to fight for [all those] targeted because of race, poverty, accents, immigration status, or any other perceived disadvantages," and she began using procedural justice, which emphasized treating every defendant with dignity, fairness, and compassion. In an especially powerful story, the author writes about an angry, cursing husband and his equally combative wife. Both had landed in Pratt's courtroom on a marijuana possession charge, but rather than offer punishment, Pratt allowed them to articulate the pain that underlay their anger, which had come from losing a child to a drive-by shooting. She then assigned them to a community program that allowed them to receive mental health support and other forms of social assistance. The couple returned to her court to update Pratt on their progress but also to visit her and, on occasion, offer support to other defendants. Timely and hopeful, this book offers insight into how procedural justice can not only help to heal people and society, but also a judicial system in dire need of reform. An eloquent and humane memoir and current affairs study. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.