Motion for Justice Lessons from Building Equitable Prosecutor-Initiated Diversion Programs with Community Partners
Overview
Prosecutors hold immense power—they decide who will be charged, what charges will be brought, what plea will be offered, and whether to ask for incarceration upon a conviction. But for too long, prosecutors were left out of conversations about how to end mass incarceration and confront racial disparities within the criminal legal system. The good news is that more prosecutors than ever before have prioritized finding ways to address these issues before a case is ever charged. In 2021, the Vera Institute of Justice launched its Motion for Justice campaign, an ongoing project that brings together prosecutors’ offices and system-impacted communities to pilot or expand community-centered diversion programs that promote community safety by centering racial equity. Vera selected 10 partner jurisdictions to participate.
This report summarizes these collaborations, discussing both the promise and Vera’s aspirations for diversion in these jurisdictions. It outlines the Motion for Justice process for selecting and working with the partnering sites and the values informing the selection criteria and engagements. The report presents the campaign’s early successes and research findings, along with best practices and recommendations for diversion programs.
Key Takeaway
Expanding the Motion for Justice model for community-based diversion from traditional prosecution is essential to driving a paradigm shift toward systems and practices that promote long-term community well-being and a more equitable future for all. When jurisdictions continuously refine approaches, centering the voices of those most impacted, communities thrive.
Publication Highlights
Historically, prosecutors have tended to pursue incarceration, leading to damaging collateral consequences for community members—loss of housing, loss of jobs, and family separation—that have lasting generational impacts.
Diversion programs hold people who commit crimes accountable while also addressing the root causes of their contact with the criminal legal system by providing relevant services and resources.
The best advisors to prosecutors are the people who feel the brunt of the system’s impacts and live in neighborhoods where the most crime is reported.