Vera Institute of Justice

Last updated
Vera Institute of Justice
Founder(s) Louis Schweitzer
Herb Sturz
Established1961
Mission"To end the overcriminalization and mass incarceration of people of color, immigrants, and people experiencing poverty."
PresidentNicholas Turner
BudgetRevenue:$263,167,197
Expenses: $262,476,408
(FYE June 2023) [1]
Address34 35th Street, Suite 4-2A, Brooklyn, New York 11232
Location
Website vera.org

The Vera Institute of Justice (originally the Vera Foundation) is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank focused on criminal justice reform. [2] It was founded in 1961 in New York City.

Contents

Founding

Philanthropist Louis Schweitzer created the Vera Foundation—named after his mother—in New York City in 1961, after being told by a friend that 2,000 boys had been in a Brooklyn jail for over 10 months, waiting for trial. Initially, Schweitzer intended to lend bail money to those too poor to afford it. Instead, with Herbert Sturz as founding director, the foundation began the Manhattan Bail Project. [3]

The Vera Foundation became the Vera Institute of Justice in 1966, with Burke Marshall, a former United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, as chairman of the board, to administer a $1.1 million grant from the Ford Foundation. [3]

Activities

The Vera Institute conducts research, demonstration projects, reform initiatives, and technical support in the area of criminal justice. [4]

Manhattan Bail Project

The Manhattan Bail Project, with Sturz as executive director and in cooperation with the New York University School of Law, worked to reform the bail bond system. [3] The project supplied New York City judges with defendant background information and recommendations as to whether to release without bond. In a three-year experiment, thousands were released and only a small number failed to appear for trial. New York City officially adopted the process in 1964. [3] With the project's success, several other jurisdictions across the country began to implement pretrial services programs. [5] It led to the Bail Reform Act of 1966, signed by US President Lyndon B. Johnson, who called the Vera Institute's work an example of what "one man's outrage against injustice" could accomplish. [3]

Prison commission

The Vera Institute of Justice organized the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons, to study issues relating to prison violence and abuse. The commission was co-chaired by former US Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, John Joseph Gibbons. [6] On June 8, 2006, the commission released its report to the US Congress recommending more attention be given to address problems of violence, insufficient mental health treatment, and health care in prisons. At a broader level, the commission criticized US policy towards incarceration as costly and ineffective. [7]

Funding and support

The Vera Institute Of Justice operates as a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For fiscal year 2023, revenue was $263,167,197 against expenses of $262,476,408. [1]

In 1966, the Vera Institute of Justice received assistance from the Ford Foundation to turn the foundation into a private nonprofit organization. [8]

The MacArthur Foundation awarded the Vera Institute $15,601,707 between 1989 and 2021, including 20 grants in Criminal Justice and Juvenile Justice. [9]

In March 2022, the Vera Institute of Justice received a $171.7 million government contract (that could reach as high as $983 million if the contract is extended to March 2027) to provide unaccompanied migrant children legal assistance. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison Fellowship</span>

Prison Fellowship is the world's largest Christian nonprofit organization for prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for justice reform.

Louis Schweitzer was a Russian-born United States paper industrialist and philanthropist. He was an executive at the family paper company until its sale. He purchased the U.S. radio station WBAI from Theodore Deglin for $34,000 in 1957. An idealist, eccentric, and long-time radio enthusiast, Schweitzer ran the station as a personal hobby and an artistic endeavour, broadcasting the latest in music, politics, and ideas.

Reprieve is a nonprofit organization of international lawyers and investigators whose stated goal is to "fight for the victims of extreme human rights abuses with legal action and public education". Their main focus is on the death penalty, indefinite detention without trial, extraordinary rendition and extrajudicial killing. The founding Reprieve organization is in the UK, and there are also organizations in the United States, Australia and the Netherlands, with additional supporters and volunteers worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randall C. Berg Jr.</span> American attorney (1949–2019)

Randall Challen Berg Jr. was an American attorney.

Specialized domestic violence courts are designed to improve victim safety and enhance defendant accountability. There is no one set definition of a specialized violence court, although these types of courts can be either civil or criminal and typically hear the majority of an area's domestic violence cases on a separate calendar. Additionally, these courts are typically led by specially assigned judges who can make more informed and consistent decisions based on their expertise and experience with the unique legal and personal issues in domestic violence cases.

Pretrial services programs are procedures in the United States to prepare cases for trial in court. In most jurisdictions pretrial services programs operate at the county level. Six US states operate and fund pretrial services programs at the state level. The US federal courts system operates pretrial services in all 94 federal districts.

Bail in the United States refers to the practice of releasing suspects from custody before their hearing, on payment of bail, which is money or pledge of property to the court which may be refunded if suspects return to court for their trial. Bail practices in the United States vary from state to state.

Arnold Ventures LLC is a limited liability company focused on evidence-based philanthropy in a wide range of areas including criminal justice, education, health care, and public finance. The organization was founded by billionaires John D. Arnold and Laura Arnold in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safe Horizon</span> Nonprofit organization in the United States

Safe Horizon, formerly the Victim Services Agency, is the largest victim services nonprofit organization in the United States, providing social services for victims of abuse and violent crime. Operating at 57 locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Safe Horizon provides social services to over 250,000 victims of violent crime and abuse and their families per year. It has over 800 employees, and has programs for victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as homeless youth and the families of homicide victims. Safe Horizon's website has been accessible for the Spanish-speaking population since 2012. Safe Horizon has an annual budget of over $63 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal justice reform in the United States</span> Reforms seeking to address structural issues in criminal justice systems of the United States

Criminal justice reform seeks to address structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Reforms can take place at any point where the criminal justice system intervenes in citizens’ lives, including lawmaking, policing, sentencing and incarceration. Criminal justice reform can also address the collateral consequences of conviction, including disenfranchisement or lack of access to housing or employment, that may restrict the rights of individuals with criminal records.

The Marshall Project is a nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about inequities within the U.S. criminal justice system. The Marshall Project has been described as an advocacy group by some, and works to impact the system through journalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Martinson</span>

Robert Magnus Martinson was an American sociologist, whose 1974 study "What Works?", concerning the shortcomings of existing prisoner rehabilitation programs, was highly influential, creating what became known as the "nothing works" doctrine. His later studies were more optimistic, but less influential at the time. He served as chairman of the Sociology Department at the City College of New York, and then founded the Center for Knowledge in Criminal Justice Planning.

The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG) is a research and policy organization based out of City University of New York. ISLG was founded in 2013 by Michael P. Jacobson, a former President of the Vera Institute of Justice and veteran government official under the Dinkins and Giuliani administrations in New York City.

The Bronx Freedom Fund is a nonprofit bail fund located in the South Bronx. The first charitable bail organization in New York State, it provides bail assistance to indigent defendants facing pretrial detention for low-level and misdemeanor charges. It was founded by David Feige, a producer, writer, and law professor, and Robin Steinberg, the founder and chief executive of The Bronx Defenders. Its first grant came from the CEO of Lava Records, Jason Flom, and the Flom Family Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Travis</span> American academic administrator

Jeremy Travis is an American academic administrator who served as the fourth president of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a senior college of the City University of New York, starting on August 16, 2004. On October 25, 2016, Travis announced that he would step down from his position as president the next year. In August 2017, he joined the Arnold Ventures LLC as Senior Vice President of Criminal Justice.

The Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, or "MassINC," is registered as a non-profit 501(c) organization that functions as a nonpartisan, evidence-based think tank. Its mission is to develop a public agenda for Massachusetts that promotes the growth and vitality of the middle class. Its governing philosophy is rooted in the ideals embodied in the American Dream: equality of opportunity, personal responsibility, and a strong commonwealth. Their mission is to promote a public agenda for the middle class and to help all citizens achieve the American dream.

Overcriminalization is the concept that criminalization has become excessive, meaning that an excessive number of laws and regulations deeming conduct illegal have a detrimental effect on society, particularly with respect to victimless crimes and actions which make conduct illegal without criminal intent on the part of the individual.

Robin Steinberg is an American lawyer and social justice advocate who is currently the chief executive officer of the Bail Project, an organization modeled after The Bronx Freedom Fund, which she founded with her husband David Feige in 2007. Steinberg is the founder and former executive director of The Bronx Defenders, a community-based public defense office serving low-income New Yorkers in the Bronx since 1997, and the director of Still She Rises, Tulsa, "the first public defender office in the nation dedicated exclusively to the representation of mothers in the criminal justice system". At The Bronx Defenders, Steinberg created The Center for Holistic Defense, a program that trains public defender offices across the country to replicate The Bronx Defenders’ model of holistic defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decarceration in the United States</span> Overview article

Decarceration in the United States involves government policies and community campaigns aimed at reducing the number of people held in custody or custodial supervision. Decarceration, the opposite of incarceration, also entails reducing the rate of imprisonment at the federal, state and municipal level. As of 2019, the US was home to 5% of the global population but 25% of its prisoners. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. possessed the world's highest incarceration rate: 655 inmates for every 100,000 people, enough inmates to equal the populations of Philadelphia or Houston. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the discussion surrounding decarceration as the spread of the virus poses a threat to the health of those incarcerated in prisons and detention centers where the ability to properly socially distance is limited. As a result of the push for decarceration in the wake of the pandemic, as of 2022, the incarceration rate in the United States declined to 505 per 100,000, resulting in the United States no longer having the highest incarceration rate in the world, but still remaining in the top five.

A bail fund is an organization, often charitable, community and volunteer-driven, or both, that collects money for the purpose of posting monetary bail for those in jail on pre-trial detention. Recipients may include those who cannot afford bail on their own or those who are in jail due to being arrested while protesting. Community bail funds determine their own criteria for eligibility and amount of bail that they will support. As of 2024, there are over 90 community bail funds around the United States represented in the National Bail Fund Network.

References

  1. 1 2 Suozzo, Andrea; Glassford, Alec; Ngu, Ash; Roberts, Brandon (Dec 2, 2024). "Vera Institute Of Justice Inc". ProPublica . Retrieved Aug 15, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Barkan, Ross (Dec 18, 2022). "The Data That Shows Progressives Can Win on Crime Prevention". New York Magazine . Retrieved Sep 29, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Johnston, Laurie (Sep 21, 1971). "Louis J. Schweitzer Dead; Founder of Vera Institute". New York Times . Retrieved Sep 29, 2023.
  4. "Vera Institute of Justice". Bureau of Justice Assistance . Retrieved Dec 6, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Freed, Daniel J.; Wald, Patricia M. (1964). "Bail in the United States: 1964" (PDF). US Department of Justice: 62.
  6. "Mission". Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons.
  7. Slevin, Peter (June 8, 2006). "U.S. Prison Study Faults System and the Public". The Washington Post.
  8. "Mission and Origins". Vera Institute of Justice. Archived from the original on 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2006-06-15.
  9. "Vera Institute of Justice". MacArthur Foundation . Retrieved Oct 1, 2023.
  10. Schoffstall, Joe (2022-07-12). "Liberal group lands $171M gov't contract that could reach $1B to help illegal immigrants avoid deportation". Fox News . Retrieved 2022-07-17.