Operation Blind Justice
Esta presentción ha sido seleccionada como finalista del desafío
Ending Corruption: Honesty Instituted .
The main focus of Operation Blind Justice is restoring due process protections to low-status defendants in the United States. Our work was inspired by a massive drug sting in the little West Texas town of Tulia on July 23rd, 1999. Forty-seven men and women, thirty-nine of them African American, were rounded up in pre-dawn raids. The only evidence of narcotics violations was the uncorroborated word of a single white undercover officer with a checkered history and a reputation for racism and dishonesty. Friends of Justice, a local collaboration of Protestant pastors, farmers, school teachers, and defendants and their families, challenged the fairness of the sting and the prosecutions flowing from it. Eventually, we were able to attract the involvement of a wide variety of allies in the advocacy field (NAACP, ACLU, etc.), media attention, and the investment of highly regarded pro bono attorneys. Eventually, the victims of this corrupt drug sting were pardoned by Texas governor, Rick Perry, and the use of uncorroborated testimony in narcotics cases came under widespread scrutiny. In the process, the criminal justice system in the state of Texas was subjected to widespread scrutiny--a process that is still ongoing. Friends of Justice realized that what happened in Tulia was reflected a national problem: the push for mass incarceration, beginning in the 1980s, has created an environment in which low-status defendants receive grossly inadequate legal representation. Prosecutors are frequently able to gain convictions (or plea bargains) on the basis of incredibly thin evidence. Friends of Justice is the only group in America who intervenes on behalf of low-status defendants in essentially evidence-free prosecutions at the pre-trial level. We are effective because we work outside the normal legal processes, constructing counter-narratives which provide defendants with a face, a faith, a family and a future. In the process the rights of citizenship are restored.
Sobre ti
Ubicación
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
tu idea
Focus of activity
Oversight/Accountability
Year the initative began (yyyy)
2000
Posicionamiento de tu iniciativa en el diagrama del mosaico,
Which of these barriers is the primary focus of your work?
Absence of Rule of Law
Which of the principles is the primary focus of your work?
Shift Power Outside the Corrupt System
If you believe some other barrier or principle should be included in the mosaic, please describe it and how it would affect the positioning of your initiative in the mosaic:
Name Your Project
Operation Blind Justice
Describe Your Idea
The main focus of Operation Blind Justice is restoring due process protections to low-status defendants in the United States. Our work was inspired by a massive drug sting in the little West Texas town of Tulia on July 23rd, 1999. Forty-seven men and women, thirty-nine of them African American, were rounded up in pre-dawn raids. The only evidence of narcotics violations was the uncorroborated word of a single white undercover officer with a checkered history and a reputation for racism and dishonesty. Friends of Justice, a local collaboration of Protestant pastors, farmers, school teachers, and defendants and their families, challenged the fairness of the sting and the prosecutions flowing from it. Eventually, we were able to attract the involvement of a wide variety of allies in the advocacy field (NAACP, ACLU, etc.), media attention, and the investment of highly regarded pro bono attorneys. Eventually, the victims of this corrupt drug sting were pardoned by Texas governor, Rick Perry, and the use of uncorroborated testimony in narcotics cases came under widespread scrutiny. In the process, the criminal justice system in the state of Texas was subjected to widespread scrutiny--a process that is still ongoing. Friends of Justice realized that what happened in Tulia was reflected a national problem: the push for mass incarceration, beginning in the 1980s, has created an environment in which low-status defendants receive grossly inadequate legal representation. Prosecutors are frequently able to gain convictions (or plea bargains) on the basis of incredibly thin evidence. Friends of Justice is the only group in America who intervenes on behalf of low-status defendants in essentially evidence-free prosecutions at the pre-trial level. We are effective because we work outside the normal legal processes, constructing counter-narratives which provide defendants with a face, a faith, a family and a future. In the process the rights of citizenship are restored.
Innovación
Description of initiative
The main focus of Operation Blind Justice is restoring due process protections to low-status defendants in the United States. Our work was inspired by a massive drug sting in the little West Texas town of Tulia on July 23rd, 1999. Forty-seven men and women, thirty-nine of them African American, were rounded up in pre-dawn raids. The only evidence of narcotics violations was the uncorroborated word of a single white undercover officer with a checkered history and a reputation for racism and dishonesty. Friends of Justice, a local collaboration of Protestant pastors, farmers, school teachers, and defendants and their families, challenged the fairness of the sting and the prosecutions flowing from it. Eventually, we were able to attract the involvement of a wide variety of allies in the advocacy field (NAACP, ACLU, etc.), media attention, and the investment of highly regarded pro bono attorneys. Eventually, the victims of this corrupt drug sting were pardoned by Texas governor, Rick Perry, and the use of uncorroborated testimony in narcotics cases came under widespread scrutiny. In the process, the criminal justice system in the state of Texas was subjected to widespread scrutiny--a process that is still ongoing. Friends of Justice realized that what happened in Tulia was reflected a national problem: the push for mass incarceration, beginning in the 1980s, has created an environment in which low-status defendants receive grossly inadequate legal representation. Prosecutors are frequently able to gain convictions (or plea bargains) on the basis of incredibly thin evidence. Friends of Justice is the only group in America who intervenes on behalf of low-status defendants in essentially evidence-free prosecutions at the pre-trial level. We are effective because we work outside the normal legal processes, constructing counter-narratives which provide defendants with a face, a faith, a family and a future. In the process the rights of citizenship are restored.
Innovación
It is commonly believed that attorneys, high-profile advocacy groups and the media provide a sufficient counter-balance to unethical prosecution. In reality, low-status defendants are almost always represented by court appointed attorneys who can only earn a decent salary by pleaing out cases at the earliest opportunity. Cases involving low-status defendants are rarely researched and the possibility of defendant innocence is rarely considered by defense counsel. High-profile advocacy groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or the American Civil Liberties Union rarely intervene for low-status defendants at the pre-trial stage. These groups are looking for cases with high-impact potential. This generally translates into waiting for cases to arise in which actual innocence can be proven. The cancerous growth of the American prison population, however, is driven by low-level narcotics cases punishable by ever more draconian sentences. The typical defendant in these cases can expect little help from established advocacy organizations. Finally, the American media has little interest in low-status defendants unless actual innocence is demonstrable. The fact that low-status defendants are being stripped of due process protections with the result that the potential for wrongful conviction of the innocent has skyrocketed is not perceived as a major problem by the media. Because it thrives on conflict, however, the media will cover cases in which an offical prosecutorial narrative of suspicion relying on widespread stereotypes and bias is challenged by a thoroughly researched counter-narrative focusing attention on the inadequacies of the prosecution's case and the humanity of the defendant(s). Friends of Justice multiplies the effectiveness of the counter-narratives we produce by creating a stage on which low-status defendants can "perform their rectitude". Our approach is effective because it works outside established systems.
Delivery Model
We target low-status defendants, their families and their friends. The creation of a compelling counter-narrative involves hundreds of hours of interviews with this target audience. In the process of this dialogue, Friends of Justice becomes familiar with the critical social facts usually ignored in criminal prosecutions. As we reconstruct the story in simple, cause-and-effect terms, the defendant begins to realize why they are being prosecuted, why the case is unacceptably weak, and why a sober and objective evaluation of all pertinent facts suggests that the case should never have been prosecuted in the first place. Of course, if the fruits of our investigation suggests that the prosecution has a strong case there is no basis for an intervention. Friends of Justice works with defendants who, apart from their lack of social status, would never be prosecutred and could never be convicted. In cases of this nature, a simple rise in perceived social status restores due process protections and makes it virtually impossible for the prosecution to proceed or for convictions to stand. In the process, we create "scandals" ready-made for the media. Since the behavior of unethical prosecution cannot stand in the face of scrutiny, prosecutors are forced to re-evaluate their behavior or risk becoming the targets of public outcry. In Lafayette, Louisiana, for instance, an innocent housewife and her three sons (all married and gainfully employed) were accused of participating in a ten-year conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. The only evidence presented against them was the testimony of thirty federal inmate witnesses who were rewarded with five-year time cuts in return for their testimony. Our research made it clear that none of these men was telling the truth. When it became evident that "perjury mills" were flourishing in the federal prison system all charges against this family were dropped and an investigation ensued. Success is exoneration.
Key Operational Partnerships
Although Friends of Justice is virtually the only group willing to intervene on behalf of anonymous, low-status defendants at the pre-trial stage, we create the conditions that change the equation for high-profile attorneys, advocacy groups and the media. The productions of a carefully researched counter-narrative creates media interest. Media interest (real or imagined), especially at the national level, brings name-brand advocacy groups to the table. The involvement of these organizations creates additional media interest which, in turn, makes the case in question much more "sellable" to high-profile pro bono attorneys who rarely take on low-status clients unless they sense that a civil rights lawsuit or positive publicity is in the offing. Friends of Justice realizes that we need to bring the media, brand name advocacy groups and effective legal representation to the table if our scandal-producing strategy is to be fully effective. For this reason we carefully cultivate our relationships with journalists, the leadership of advocacy organizations like the NAACP and the ACLU (at both the state and national levels) and influential members of the legal profession.
Impacto
Financial Model
Friends of Justice doesn't charge for its services. Low-status defendants are vulnerable precisely because they are too poor to afford the services of potential saviors and generally too uneducated to grasp hold of the levers of power. We work exclusively with low-income and marginalized populations, providing them with the status that normally comes with income and education. This means that Friends of Justice must obtain support from private individuals, philanthropists and foundations.
What percentage, if any, of the total operating costs does earned income (from products, services, or other fees) represent?
5%
How is the initiative financed? Is it financially self-sustainable or profitable? How much do beneficiaries contribute?
Unfortunately, if the work Friends of Justice does was financially self-sustainable or profitable we wouldn't be the only group doing it. In the past, we have been funded by a combination of grants and private donations at a level adequate to support the work of one paid staff person, our Executive Director. We realize, however, that our long-term effectiveness requires the systematic and sustained training of skilled investigators who can learn and utilize the model we have created. This will require at least $250,000 per year and a move to a major population center where supportive allies are more readily available and college educated and motivated investigators can be recruited. Our biggest barrier to funding at the moment is widespread ignorance regarding the plight of low-status defendants in America and an equally widespread belief that attorneys, name brand advocacy groups and the media provide an effective check against prosecutorial corruption. We need to convince funders that the missing link is effective community organizing that provides a compelling counter-narrative and opportunities for the performance of rectitude. This requires a tremendous amount of travel (we go where the problems are), media outreach and networking with potential allies.
Effectiveness
As noted earlier, our work in Tulia led directly to the exoneration of forty-seven people and the disbanding of the 50 regional narcotics task forces (RNTFs) functioning in the state of Texas (all of them dependant on the use of uncorroborated testimony from unreliable witnesses). Indirectly, a Tulia Bill passed by the Texas legislature led directly to the discovery of a major scandal in Dallas in which rogue police officers and unscrupulous confidential informants were using fake drugs (pool chalk) to convict innocent Mexican Nationals. More recently, due to Friends of Justice intervention, a Lousiana mother and her three of her sons were exonerated in a case involving the misuse of inmate "snitch" witnesses in federal conspiracy prosecutions. This case, which is gradually gaining the attention of the national media, uncovered the alarming fact that federal inmates are buying and selling identifying information on potential narcotics defendants. This market is fueled by the fact that most of these inmates are serving multi-decade sentences without parole and can only reduce their terms by offering "substantial assistance" to the government. This has created a situation in which low-status defendants would inevitably be convicted. Friends of Justice is currently working on a case in Jena, Lousiana in which white students placed nooses in a tree in a schoolyard after black students asked if, counter to prevailing custom, they could sit under that tree. After a school fire and a weekend of white-initiated racial violence, a white boy was attacked at school. His alleged attackers have been charged with crimes that could easily place them in prison for fifty years without parole--none of the young people involved in the white-initiated racial incidents have been charged at all. Thanks to Friends of Justice outreach, the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Chicago Tribune are currently covering this story.
Which element of the program proved itself most effective?
The production of carefully researched counter-narratves has proven to be the most effective element in our work. With all the legal and social facts surrounding a case laid out in a simple, chronological, readable and defendant-friendly fashion, the media, advocacy groups and high-profile pro bono attorneys quickly take a lively interest in cases they would normally ignore. Friends of Justice is contacted in cases in which low-status defendants are effectively stripped of due process protections because we have developed a reputation for compassion, efficiency, networking and media savvy and effectiveness. Counter-narratives are effective only in cases in which the evidence is so thin that it could only be used to indict, prosecute and convict low-status defendants. In fact, a good working definition of "low-status defendant" would be anyone who can be prosecuted without real evidence. The Tulia case opened our eyes to how easily this can be done and, conversely, how easily it can be undone--if you enter the fight early enough. Friends of Justice has found that cases unfolding in small towns are particularly effective because they involve a small number of actors (something the media appreciates), and the bias against low-status defendants is particularly obvious in small communities where everyone believes they know everyone else.
Number of clients in the last year?
In the last year, Friends of Justice worked directly with twelve defendants and over 200 of their family members and friends. We mention the supportive community because public meetings involving friends and family of the accused are crucial to our strategy. In these meetings, the status-enhancing facts asserted in our counter-narrative are placed on public display.
What is the potential demand?
The potential demand for Operation Blind Justice is unfathomable and unlimited. For example, the state of Texas incarcerated approximately 40,000 people in 1980. In 2006, that figure had quadrupled to 160,000. Similar explosions in prison populations are occurring across the United States. America currently incarcerates over 600 people per 100,000 population--in Canada the figure is just over 100 per 100,000, and in Europe the incarceration rate in lower still. Although the American court system has experienced rapid growth, it is not possible, as a practical matter, to prosecute so many people unless shortcuts are taken and due process considerations are routinely overlooked. Although television court dramas invariably feature high-status white defendants, the vast majority of the men and women prosecuted in America are low-status African Americans. Juries, on the other hand, are overwhelmingly white and high-status. In an environment marked by a widespread fear of crime, prosecutors need only suggest that a defendant is "dangerous" and juries will convict no matter how sketchy the evidence. Because only 3% of trials end in acquittal, defendants know their chances of suriviving a jury trial are very poor. In a swearing match with a police officer or even a drug addicted confidential informant, a low-status defendant will lose every time. This explains why only 5% of cases even go to trial. In the process, due process protections (particularly the presumption of innocence and the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt) are effectively eliminated from the process and the potential for wrongful conviction (as in Tulia) skyrockets. Only an avalanche of Tulia-style horror stories can raise public awareness in this overlooked area of social policy. It is crucial, therefore, that the model Friends of Justice has created be duplicated across America. The stories are out there; but capacity is sadly lacking.
Scaling up Strategy
During the next 12 months, Friends of Justice plans to relocate from tiny Tulia, Texas to a major population center--most likely in Texas. We plan to find office space, possibly in a cooperative relationship with a university. Our plan for 2008 is to hire two college-educated interns who feel drawn to the work we do. Since a first-year school teacher in Dallas earns $43,000 we fell we will have to pay at least that much to attract highly qualified, trainable candidates. During 2008 and 2009, these interns will receive hands-on, in-the-field training from Friends of Justice Executive Director Alan Bean. They will learn the basics of the criminal justice system, the ABCs of amateur legal research, the principles of cultural sensitivity and trust building, interview techniques, the effective use of a camera, networking media outreach skills, community organizing techniques and, above all, how to produce a tight, compelling, defendant-friendly and accurate counter-narrative. In 2009, we hope to hire a part-time development director who would also be responsible for bookkeeping.
Stage of the initiative
1
Expansion plan
Ultimately, Friends of Justice envisions several sister organizations utilizing the Friends of Justice model of criminal justice reform. We cannot have a long-term impact unless we educate the public about the way the criminal justice system works (or fails to work) and the pervasive nature of bias against low-status people. As in Tulia, the most effective educational tool is simple storytelling. One story is insufficient to change basic public attitudes. Even the handful of compelling stories Friends of Justice has generated to date are insufficient. We plan to generate an avalanche of stories which will have the cumulative effect of raising eyebrows and changing attitudes. This is one of the reasons why we need to leave our current home in Tulia, Texas. The symbolic significance of the Tulia name is hard to overstate. When people Google "Tulia" and "Friends of Justice" they quickly understand that we are a force to be reckoned with. Nonetheless, after six years in Tulia the logistical downside of being located in an isolated West Texas town have finally outweighed the manifold benefits of our current location. After establishing ourselves in a major center (Dallas is the most likely candidate at this stage of our planning) we ultimately plan to establish Friends of Justice Centers throughout the United States. We anticipate that our scaling up strategy will cost in the neighborhood of $250,000 per year.
Origin of the Initiative
When Nancy and Alan Bean arrived in little Tulia, Texas in 1998, Nancy was a school teacher and Alan was a Protestant minister. We had lived mostly in predominently white, middle class communities and worked with white, middle class congregations. As such, we were effectively insulated from the realities of low-status life in America. Our advocacy on behalf of the Tulia defendants shattered our comfortable assumption that the criminal justice system was basically fair. We also learned that, although African Americans are victimized by the problems outlined about in grossly disproportionate ways, it is lack of status rather than skin color that makes people vulnerable to wrongful conviction and the loss of due process. Although our work has been difficult to fund, we feel strongly that we have a personal obligation to expand our efforts.
Esta presentación se trata de
Sustenibilidad
Main Obstacles to Scaling Up
The primary obstacle to scaling up Operation Blind Justice is financial; but our funding challenge is rooted in public perception. Most Americans, even those on the liberal side of the political spectrum, give little thought to the plight of low-status defendants. Even those who understand the problem seem convinced that the answer lies in funding advocacy groups and providing more money for indigent defense--it is rarely suggested that a new, essentially extra-legal strategy is required. Moreover, judges, prosecutors and court appointed attorneys are generally over-worked public servants who believe they are behaving as justly as their circumstances allow. These public officials resent blanket criticisms of "the system", especially the suggestion that they are complicit in some kind of racist conspiracy against black people. But so long as no one points the finger at specific instances of injustice, nothing will change. Critiquing the system on the basis of statistical analysis, as a single, stand-alone policy, will not be sufficient. We need simple, compelling, concrete stories that demonstrate precisely how and why the system has gone astray.
Main Financial Challenges
Our primary financing challenge is the fact that few philanthropic foundations have identified the legal system's bias against low-status defendants as a problem. Hence, Friends of Justice is drawing attention to a problem which, in the eyes of high-status funders and philanthropists, doesn't exist. The social separation between high-status and low-status Americans is so vast and complete that few high-status African Americans have identified the plight of low-status defendants as an important problem. But take a single tentative step inside low-status communities and you will instantly overwhelmed by a tidal wave of fear, resentment, hostility and pain. Children are suspicious of police officers. Families are devastated by the practical impact of mass incarceration. Adolescents are frequently "in the system" (on probation) before their 16th birthday. Access to good-paying jobs is severely limited. High drop out and teen pregnancy rates rob young people of a future. And even those desperate to make the most of their opportunities are tarred by the broad brush of public suspicion. To be arrested is to be convicted--the presumption of innocence does not exist.
Main Partnership Challenges
After six years of criminal justice reform work, Friends of Justice has established excellent working relationships with coalition partners and journalists. Our major challenge with potential coalition partners is logistical: their mission statements often preclude the kind of pre-trial intervention Friends of Justice employs. Moreover, the internal funding mechanisms our allies must work with make it hard for our partners to access funds for the kind of work Friends of Justice is involved in. For a host of logistical reasons, it is practically impossible for coalition partners to channel funding to Friends of Justice even when there is a strong desire to do so. In the past, there was a tendency for cooperating organizations to avoid involvement until the media showed an interest. Then, the moment a case generated media, our allies would suggest that they had been on the ground from the outset. In other words, media coverage has rarely highlighted the importance of grass roots community organizing--the specialty of Friends of Justice. More recently, however, our growing savvy and improved communication techniques have minimized this problem.
How did you hear about this contest and what is your main incentive to participate?
I learned about this contest in the course of researching funding opportunities. We chose to participate because we are social entrepreneurs marketing an innovative model of criminal justice reform.
 | 258 weeks agoLydia Bean said: Dear Manisha, That is an excellent suggestion to incorporate this approach into the curriculum of law schools. This is a great need ... about this Competition Entry. - leer más > |
| 258 weeks agoLydia Bean said: I agree on the importance of a clear definition for corruption. I think the work of Friends of Justice is fighting corruption, because ... about this Competition Entry. - leer más > |
| 259 weeks agoOperation Blind Justice has been chosen as a finalist in Ending Corruption: Honesty Instituted. |
| 261 weeks agoRichard Gottbreht said: Hello, My name is Rich Gottbreht from Global Insights and I am one of the entrants in the competition. Our work centers on helping ... about this Competition Entry. - leer más > |
| 263 weeks agoPatrick Meagher said: This sounds like an excellent initiative that responds to a critical need. However, the connection with corruption is not at all ... about this Competition Entry. - leer más > |
| 266 weeks agoManisha Gupta said: Thank you for the comprehensive explanation of your model. Your approach is unique- in its depth, strategic partnerships and the ... about this Competition Entry. - leer más > |
| 267 weeks agoAlan Bean said: It is common for non-profits in search of funding to research the "hot" issues that seem to be attracting a lot of funding and shaping a ... about this Competition Entry. - leer más > |