Victoria Pratt: How judges can show respect
فيكتوريا برات: كيف يمكن للقضاة إظهار الاحترام
Judge Victoria Pratt is inspiring a global revolution in criminal justice. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
I want to tell you something.
أُريد أن أُخبرك شيئاً.
by a transgender prostitute
sitting next to her,
I look better than the girl you're with."
أجمل من الفتاة التي معك."
بالقدر الكافِ
be picked up by the record,
بقدر كافٍ
towards counselor's table with dignity.
المستشار بكرامة.
also known as procedural fairness,
بالإنصاف الإجرائي،
of an African-American garbageman
in the segregated South.
you're still paying attention.
for a better life for her unborn children.
لأبنائها الذين لم يولدوا بعد.
you meet with dignity and respect,
من أقابل بكرامة وإحترام،
no matter how they dress,
مهما كان لبسهم،
it would be the most important lesson
to the Newark Municipal Court bench.
off the playground
to translate for family members
لأترجم لأفراد من العائلة
to the United States,
for a person, a novice,
and around the globe,
that is foreign, intimidating
about the nature of their charges,
with the police
their relationships, their finances
علاقاتهم وأوضاعهم المالية
who encounters our courts.
عادي عندما يواجه محكمة.
going through court security.
الذي يمرّون به عند أمن المحكمة.
they walk around the building,
عليهم أن يبحثوا في البناية،
the same question
to where they're supposed to be,
when they encounter the courts.
people's court experience,
the public's trust
is procedural justice
هي العدالة الإجرائية
they are treated fairly
Yale professor Tom Tyler found
جامعة ييل، توم تايلر
as far back in the '70s
see the justice system
to impose rules and regulations,
that they were treated fairly
begins with what?
to court participants.
القاضي إلى من بالمحكمة.
a reserve seat to a tragic reality show
في عرض واقعي مأساوي
of appearing vulnerable on the bench,
did I need to do something,
of procedural justice are easy
العدالة الإجرائية سهلة
as quickly as tomorrow.
that it can be done for free.
not going to let them speak.
that's going to hurt your case."
للدفاع عن المتهمين
of giving them voice.
college student an essay.
بالثامنة عشر، حق الكلام.
دون السن القانوني.
and his hands trembling,
had become an alcoholic like his mom,
على الكحول كما كانت أمه،
due to alcohol-related liver disease.
مرض بالكبد له علاقة بالكحول.
to my father, a letter to my son,
positive thing about myself,
to be introspective,
that goes beyond their criminal record
هو أبعد من ملفهم الجنائي
in the justice system,
to be favoring one side over the other.
أنه يفضل طرفاً على الآخر.
not to say things like,
وأن لا يقول أشياءً مثل،
"my defense attorney."
"محامي دفاعي".
when we work in environments
assigned to your courts,
in and out of your courts as well.
a new Rutgers Law grad
حديثة التخرج من راتجرز
and I was greeted by two grey-haired men
وتم تحيتي من قبل رجلين أشيبان
the last game of golf they played together
a fair shot in that forum.
على فرصة عادلة بهذا التشكيل.
understand the process,
بالمحكمة النهج،
is the language we use to confuse.
هي اللغة التي نستعملها للإرباك.
who appear before me,
their second language.
was when I was a young judge --
كان عندما كنت قاضية صغيرة بالعمر --
a senior judge comes to me,
has mental health issues,
and you can get your evaluation."
وستحصلين علي تقييمك".
was a mental health issue,
and I started to ask questions.
um, psychotrop --
سايكوتروب--
with a psychiatrist before?"
العلاج عند أخصائي نفسيّ؟"
was suffering from mental illness.
يعاني من اضطرابات عقلية.
to scrap the script and ask one question.
قررت أن أرمي النّص وأن أسأل سؤالاً واحداً
to clear your mind?"
أدوية لصفاء الذهن؟"
for my schizophrenia,
أتناول ’هالدول’ لانفصام الشخصية،
حتى عندما لا تحصل على إجابة.
to clear your mind?"
no medication to clear my mind.
لا أتناول أية أدوية لتصفية ذهني.
to stop the voices in my head,
understand the question,
to make meaningful decisions
of the other principles can work.
"Good morning, ma'am."
صباح الخير أيتها السيدة"
who is standing before you,
"Um, how are you doing today?
"كيف حالك اليوم؟
actually interested in the response.
in the paperwork?"
read and write, can't you?"
there's a literacy issue.
عدم قدرة على الكتابة والقراءة.
is that it's contagious.
respectful to other folks
that respect to themselves.
the transgender prostitute was telling me.
العاهرة المتحولة جنسياً.
as you think you may be judging me.
الذي تظن أنك تصدر أحكامك علي.
to change the culture at my courthouse
لتغيير الثقافة في دار القضاء
to the criminal court,
as the worst courtroom in the city,
على أنه أسوأ محكمة بالمدينة
with revolving door justice,
of low-level offenders --
لمرتكبي الجنايات البسيطة --
with quality-of-life tickets,
مع الكثير من المخالفات
and the misguided young people --
والشباب المضَلَّلين
doing a life sentence
decided that Newarkers deserved better,
أن نيوآرك تستحق ما هو أفضل،
with the Center for Court Innovation
to punishment with assistance.
otherwise get a jail sentence
individual counseling sessions,
as well as community giveback,
بالإضافة إلى عطاء مقابل للمجتمع،
that this wonderful program
and was going to be housed where?
the attitudes were terrible there
being sent there as punishment.
disciplinary actions at times,
يواجهون إجراءات تأديبية
a 30-day jail sentence on their rotation,
30 يوما خلال دورتهم في هذه المحكمة
they were being hazed
sorority or fraternity.
والطلاب بالجانعة.
an attorney who worked there
as "the scum of the earth"
with those people? They're so nasty.
هؤلاء الناس؟ إنهم قذرون.
we criminalize social ills,
نُجرّم الأمراض الإجتماعية.
and say, "Do something."
ونقول، "إفعل شيئاً."
to lead by example.
came when a 60-something-year-old man
هذه الطريقة عندما مثَل أمامي
was showing the signs of drug withdrawal.
الإدمان بادية على جسده.
and he said, "30 years."
أجابني، "منذ 30 سنة."
I have a 32-year-old son."
had the opportunity
because of your addiction."
I'm going to let you go home,
some assistance for your addiction."
مساعدة في موضوع الإدمان."
and he was sitting the courtroom.
جالساً في قاعة المحكمة.
"Judge, I came back to court
"أيتها القاضية، لقد عدت إلى المحكمة
than I had for myself."
أكثر مما ظهرت أنا لنفسي."
he heard love from the bench?
لقد سمع الحب عبر منضدة المحكمة؟
when the court behaves differently,
المحكمة بشكل مختلف
you can go to for assistance,
schizophrenic homeless woman
التي تعاني من الفصام
and screams, "Judge!
for a couple of months,
a couple of weeks ago.
of coaxing by the judge,
الإقناع من قبل القاضي،
was terrible, Judge.
"خدمة المجتمع كانت مريعة أيتها القاضية.
and it was full of empty heroin envelopes,
بمغلفات الهيروين الفارغة،
to do community service,
لتنفيذ الخدمة المجتمعية،
when I wasn't high,
قبل ذلك وأنا في وعيي،
the children playing there."
lowered their head.
its relationship with the community,
بإعادة تشكيل علاقتها مع المجتمع،
through the court program.
عن طريق برنامج المحكمة.
at an office cleaning company,
شركة لتنظيف المكاتب،
after the interview,
وأنا في بدلتي مباشرة بعد المقابلة،
how bad I wanted the job."
أن يرى كم أنا بحاجة للعمل."
when a person in authority
who struts down the aisle
do you notice anything different?"
هل لاحظت شيئاً مختلفاً؟"
a referral from the program,
بعد تحويل من البرنامج،
to replace the old teeth
of years of heroin addiction.
that judges will use these tools
the communities that they serve.
are not miracle cure-alls,
to where we want to be,
ضوئية إلى حيث نريد أن نكون،
that people enter our halls of justice
يدخل الناس فيه إلى قاعات المحاكم
with dignity and respect
will be served there.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Victoria Pratt - ProfessorJudge Victoria Pratt is inspiring a global revolution in criminal justice.
Why you should listen
Judge Victoria Pratt has gained national and international acclaim for her commitment to reforming the criminal justice system. As the Chief Judge in Newark Municipal Court in Newark, New Jersey, a busy urban court, she spent years gaining a deep understanding of how justice could be delivered to court participants in a manner that increased their trust in the legal system. While presiding over Newark Community Solutions, the Community Court Program, she provided alternatives to jail to low-level offenders. These alternatives included community service, individual and group counseling sessions, and her signature assignment of introspective essays. Her respectful approach has had a positive effect on court participant’s court experience -- and how the community viewed the court.
Pratt is now serving as a Professor at Rutgers Law School in Newark, an institution that has always been committed to social justice. Her teaching load includes problem-solving courts and restorative justice. As a graduate of Rutgers Law, she is excited by the opportunity to influence the minds of future lawyers and judges with innovative and humane ways of dealing with court participants. She also continues to champion criminal justice reform through her consulting firm Pratt Lucien Consultants, LLC, by sharing her skills and approach with others.
Pratt’s work has been featured in The Guardian and Rutgers Magazine (both written by Pulitzer-winning author Tina Rosenberg.) As a nationally recognized expert in procedural justice and alternative sentencing, she has been asked by numerous professional organizations and jurisdictions to share her story and philosophy. Judge Pratt has also appeared on MSNBC's "Melissa Harris Perry Show," the Emmy-winning PBS show "Due Process," and National Public Radio's "Conversations with Allan Wolper."
Pratt is licensed to practice law in both New Jersey and New York and is admitted to the US Supreme Court. She also facilitates empowerment sessions to help people live their best lives.
(Photo: Erik James Montgomery)
Victoria Pratt | Speaker | TED.com