Digital Library

In 2007 CCE celebrated its anniversary and published The First Twenty-Five Years, with an introduction by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Even after dramatic improvements in the performance of the District of Columbia’s child welfare system, DC foster children still spend multiple years in temporary care before finding permanent homes. In addition, two hundred children have left the system in each of the past two years without ever finding a family.

CCETestimony to the DCCouncil Committee on the Judiciary regarding the Jury Trial Improvements Act of 2006, Bill 16-700

El Acto de derechos de víctimas enmienda de 1988 del Distristo de Columbia proporciona a víctimas de un crimen violente la opportunidad de archivar un papel que el juez considerará durante el tiempo de sentenciar.Este follete ha preparado para ayudarle a comprender sus derechos como una víctim, y explica cómo completar el papel considerado duranta el tiempo de sentenciar. Llama 202.785.5917 para ordenar por teléfono.

CCETestimony to the DCCouncil Committee on the Judiciary regarding the Criminal Records Expungement Act of 2006, Bill 16-746

"Expungement" is frequently the term used for the process of erasing an individual's criminal record – the official records regarding arrests and/or a conviction -- to afford citizens the opportunity to put past contact with the criminal justice system behind them. The Council for Court Excellence (CCE) undertook to address the subject of expungement and to prepare a report that would summarize the existing state of the law, discuss key issues, and set forth options that the Council of the District of Columbia might wish to consider in enacting legislation on the subject. Download the legislation here.

This report by G. Thomas Munsterman of the National Center for State Courts, presents concrete steps to expand citizen participation in jury service. The report describes the current process by which District of Columbia citizens are summoned to jury service, and it suggests governmental reforms to increase the proportion of summoned citizens who actually serve.

CCE Testimony to the DC Council Committee on Human Services regarding oversight of the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA)

In September 2004, the Council for Court Excellence received a contract from the DC Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to perform a needs assessment of the DC Superior Court DC Misdemeanor and Traffic Court. This Court is one of two community courts created as a result of a recommendation by the Council for Court Excellence and the Justice Management Institute publication A Roadmap To A Better Criminal Justice System (April 2001), which can be downloaded here.

The report is a comprehensive analysis of the District of Columbia's system for providing lawyers to represent all children and indigent adults in child neglect court proceedings. Such representation has been guaranteed by DC law for twenty years and is a far more comprehensive legal safety net than in many jurisdictions in the nation. This CCE report builds on four studies published by the DC Bar since 1975 of Superior Court appointed counsel systems for criminal and family cases, and it traces the results of the most recent of the four studies, the Muse Report of 1993.