Thursday, May 11th, 2023

Judge Victoria Pratt was Chief Judge in Newark Municipal Court in New Jersey and the author of The Power of Dignity. She is currently the Executive Director of Odyssey Impact, an interfaith non-profit driving social change through innovative storytelling and media. We discuss procedural justice, municipal court reform, and increasing the public's trust in the justice system.

Tough-on-crime laws are ineffective. Punishing people for wrongdoing does not change behavior. Judge Pratt asserts her authority when she understands the people who appear in court before her. People obey the law when they are treated with respect and dignity, because then they view the people who impose rules and laws as legitimate authorities. Engaging with the criminal justice system is punishment enough, whether you're innocent or not.