Victoria Pratt: How judges can show respect
Victoria Pratt: Cómo los jueces pueden mostrar respeto
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.
Quiero decirle algo.
by a transgender prostitute
sitting next to her,
I look better than the girl you're with."
que la chica con la que estás".
lo suficientemente bajo
be picked up by the record,
lo suficientemente fuerte
towards counselor's table with dignity.
hacia la mesa del consejero con dignidad.
also known as procedural fairness,
conocida como equidad procesal,
of an African-American garbageman
de basura afroestadounidense
in the segregated South.
you're still paying attention.
siguen prestando atención.
for a better life for her unborn children.
vida para sus hijos todavía por nacer.
you meet with dignity and respect,
las personas con dignidad y respeto,
no matter how they dress,
sin importar su ropa,
it would be the most important lesson
fue la lección más importante
to the Newark Municipal Court bench.
de la corte municipal de Newark.
off the playground
to translate for family members
para traducir para miembros de la familia
to the United States,
for a person, a novice,
puede ser para una persona novata,
and around the globe,
y en todo el mundo,
con nuestros tribunales,
that is foreign, intimidating
about the nature of their charges,
sobre la naturaleza de sus cargos,
with the police
con la policía,
their relationships, their finances
podrían afectar sus relaciones,
who encounters our courts.
ante nuestros tribunales.
going through court security.
pasar el control la seguridad de la corte.
caminan por el edificio,
they walk around the building,
the same question
a diferentes personas
a donde se supone que deben estar,
to where they're supposed to be,
when they encounter the courts.
al verse ante los tribunales.
people's court experience,
de la corte popular,
the public's trust
la confianza del público
is procedural justice
es la justicia procesal
que son tratadas de manera justa
they are treated fairly
Yale professor Tom Tyler found
de Yale Tom Tyler encontró
as far back in the '70s
en los años 70
see the justice system
ven el sistema de justicia
to impose rules and regulations,
para imponer reglas y regulaciones,
en contra de ellos,
that they were treated fairly
fueron tratados con justicia
begins with what?
esa percepción de justicia?
to court participants.
hablan a los participantes de la corte.
a reserve seat to a tragic reality show
de reserva para un reality show trágico
of appearing vulnerable on the bench,
a parecer vulnerable en el banco,
did I need to do something,
necesitaba hacer algo,
of procedural justice are easy
de la justicia procesal son fáciles
as quickly as tomorrow.
tan rápido como mañana.
hacer sin coste alguno.
that it can be done for free.
la oportunidad de hablar,
not going to let them speak.
that's going to hurt your case."
que perjudique su caso".
de redacción a los acusados
of giving them voice.
college student an essay.
a un estudiante universitario de 18 años.
de alcohol siendo menor de edad.
leyendo su ensayo,
and his hands trembling,
y sus manos temblaban,
had become an alcoholic like his mom,
en un alcohólico como su madre,
due to alcohol-related liver disease.
generada por el alcohol.
to my father, a letter to my son,
a mi padre, una carta a mi hijo,
positive thing about myself,
to be introspective,
de ser introspectiva,
donde están todas las respuestas.
that goes beyond their criminal record
que va más allá
y de sus cargos.
in the justice system,
en el sistema de justicia,
to be favoring one side over the other.
está favoreciendo un lado sobre el otro.
not to say things like,
consciente de no decir cosas como:
"my defense attorney."
"mi abogado defensor".
when we work in environments
cuando trabajamos en entornos
assigned to your courts,
asignadas a tus tribunales,
in and out of your courts as well.
y salen de sus tribunales también.
a new Rutgers Law grad
una recién graduada de derecho de Rutgers
and I was greeted by two grey-haired men
dos hombres de pelo gris
the last game of golf they played together
el último juego de golf que jugaron juntos
a fair shot in that forum.
una oportunidad justa en ese foro.
understand the process,
de la corte entiendan el proceso,
is the language we use to confuse.
es el lenguaje usado para confundir.
who appear before me,
las personas que aparecen ante mí,
their second language.
en el tribunal.
was when I was a young judge --
cuando era una juez joven:
un juez superior vino a mí,
a senior judge comes to me,
has mental health issues,
problemas de salud mental,
and you can get your evaluation."
obtendrá su evaluación".
was a mental health issue,
un problema de salud mental,
and I started to ask questions.
y comencé a hacer preguntas.
um, psychotrop --
with a psychiatrist before?"
con un psiquiatra antes?"
was suffering from mental illness.
padecía una enfermedad mental.
to scrap the script and ask one question.
eliminar el guion y hacer una pregunta.
para despejar su mente?"
to clear your mind?"
for my schizophrenia,
por mi esquizofrenia,
to clear your mind?"
para aclarar su mente?"
no medication to clear my mind.
para aclarar mi mente.
las voces en mi cabeza,
to stop the voices in my head,
understand the question,
las personas entienden la pregunta,
to make meaningful decisions
tomar decisiones significativas
of the other principles can work.
principios puede funcionar.
"Good morning, ma'am."
"Buenos días señora".
who is standing before you,
los estás condenando.
"Um, how are you doing today?
actually interested in the response.
realmente interesado en la respuesta.
in the paperwork?"
en la documentación?"
read and write, can't you?"
there's a literacy issue.
hay un problema de alfabetización.
is that it's contagious.
es que es contagioso.
respetuosa con otras personas
respectful to other folks
that respect to themselves.
the transgender prostitute was telling me.
transgénero me estaba diciendo.
as you think you may be judging me.
como crees que puedes juzgarme.
to change the culture at my courthouse
cambiar la cultura en mi tribunal
cómodamente durante siete meses
to the criminal court,
a la corte criminal,
as the worst courtroom in the city,
como la peor corte de la ciudad,
incluso dirían que del estado.
with revolving door justice,
con justicia de puerta giratoria,
of low-level offenders --
de delincuentes de bajo nivel,
with quality-of-life tickets,
con poca calidad de vida,
and the misguided young people --
de la escuela secundaria
doing a life sentence
decided that Newarkers deserved better,
decidió que Newarkers merecía algo mejor,
with the Center for Court Innovation
el Center for Court Innovation
to punishment with assistance.
al castigo con ayuda.
recibiría una sentencia de cárcel
otherwise get a jail sentence
individual counseling sessions,
sesiones de asesoría individual,
as well as community giveback,
así como donación comunitaria,
servicio comunitario.
that this wonderful program
este maravilloso programa
and was going to be housed where?
de la corte criminal.
las actitudes eran terribles allí
the attitudes were terrible there
a los que enviaban allí
being sent there as punishment.
para ser castigados.
disciplinary actions at times,
acciones disciplinarias,
a 30-day jail sentence on their rotation,
de cárcel de 30 días en rotación,
they were being hazed
estaban siendo aturdidos
sorority or fraternity.
o hermandad universitaria.
un abogado que trabajaba allí
an attorney who worked there
as "the scum of the earth"
como "la escoria de la tierra"
with those people? They're so nasty.
Son muy desagradables.
we criminalize social ills,
criminalizamos los males sociales,
and say, "Do something."
a un juez diciendo: "Haga algo".
to lead by example.
came when a 60-something-year-old man
fue cuando un hombre de 60 años
was showing the signs of drug withdrawal.
signos de abstinencia de drogas.
and he said, "30 years."
sido adicto, y él dijo: "30 años".
I have a 32-year-old son."
had the opportunity
nunca tuvo la oportunidad
because of your addiction."
I'm going to let you go home,
voy a dejarle ir a casa,
some assistance for your addiction."
asistencia para su adicción".
and he was sitting the courtroom.
él estaba sentado en el tribunal.
"Judge, I came back to court
"Juez, volví a la corte
than I had for myself."
que el que yo tenía por mí".
he heard love from the bench?
¿oyó el amor desde el banco?
when the court behaves differently,
de manera diferente,
responden de manera diferente.
you can go to for assistance,
al que puedes acudir en busca de ayuda,
schizophrenic homeless woman
esquizofrénica de 60 años
and screams, "Judge!
for a couple of months,
su caso por un par de meses,
a couple of weeks ago.
hacía un par de semanas.
of coaxing by the judge,
de persuasión por parte del juez,
de entrar en la ambulancia
la comunidad fue terrible, Juez.
was terrible, Judge.
and it was full of empty heroin envelopes,
estaba lleno de sobres de heroína vacíos,
parque para drogarme,
to do community service,
para hacer un servicio comunitario,
when I wasn't high,
sin estar drogado,
the children playing there."
de que los niños jugaban allí".
lowered their head.
its relationship with the community,
su relación con la comunidad,
a través del programa de la corte.
through the court program.
en una empresa de limpieza de oficinas,
at an office cleaning company,
para decir con orgullo:
after the interview,
en mi traje después de la entrevista,
how bad I wanted the job."
lo mucho que deseaba el trabajo".
when a person in authority
cuando una persona con autoridad
who struts down the aisle
que camina por el pasillo
do you notice anything different?"
a referral from the program,
una referencia del programa,
to replace the old teeth
reemplazaran los dientes viejos
of years of heroin addiction.
de años de adicción a la heroína.
que vale la pena salvar.
that judges will use these tools
usen estas herramientas
the communities that they serve.
las comunidades en las que sirven.
are not miracle cure-alls,
no son remedios milagrosos,
to where we want to be,
cerca de donde queremos estar,
that people enter our halls of justice
las personas entren a nuestros tribunales
with dignity and respect
con dignidad y respeto
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