Trial and Error in Court Communications Project

The Fund for the City of New York's Center for Court Innovation ("Center") has sought to raise awareness about the role that trial and error plays in criminal justice reform and to improve the way that criminal courts communicate with the public. The goal is to promote greater transparency and accountability, both in practice (focusing on what is said in courtrooms and how it is understood by victims, defendants and witnesses) and a policy level (focusing on how decision-makers talk about and learn from pilot projects - both successes and failures). In this project, the Center will convene a focus group to explore how the concept of trial and error can be utilized to spark innovation and improve practice in the area of court communications; host a webinar to focus attention on court communication practices; conduct and publish edited transcripts for interviews with leading practitioners and policymakers, conduct a case study of a criminal court reform that failed to achieve all its goals and draw out lessons for future reformers and; present findings at conferences and other events.

NCA/NCF