Recent News

On September 23, 2024, CCE released "Is D.C. More Secure? A Criminal Legal System Overview", which provides up-to-date data on many key aspects of D.C.’s criminal legal system. The report gives particular focus to parts of the legal system that may be impacted in the months and years ahead by provisions of the SECURE D.C. legislation passed in early 2024.

Nominations for the 2025 Justice Potter Stewart Award are open until September 20, 2024. Each year, CCE recognizes individuals or organizations who have made a significant contribution to the law, the legal system, the courts, or the administration of justice in our community.

On Tuesday, July 16, 2024 CCE hosted the latest Bench-Bar-Media Dialogue event, "Tell Us Everything: Handling the Demand for Information in High-Profile Trials in the Internet Age" at Williams & Connolly LLP. The event attracted 70 attendees, who engaged deeply with the expert insights shared by our distinguished panelists. Read this article to learn more!

On June 7, 2024 the District Task Force on Jails & Justice released a public statement on the D.C. Department of Corrections' plans for a new jail facility. The Task Force calls on District leaders to engage with its concerned members and those who are most impacted by the jail to develop a plan to house and treat people who are held in custody as safely and humanely as possible.

CCE, in partnership with the Office of the D.C. Auditor (ODCA), released a report which finds that the District’s child welfare and delinquency systems are not meeting the needs of “crossover youth,” who are young people who have been involved with both systems. This new audit report, "A Broken Web: Improved Interagency Collaboration is Needed for D.C.’s Crossover Youth," underscores the need for enhanced collaboration and targeted interventions to improve outcomes for both the young people themselves and community safety. 

The Council for Court Excellence invites you to join us and our distinguished co-sponsors for "Meet the Next Chief Judge" on June 13, 2024. At this candidate forum, interested members of the public will hear from the judges who have applied to succeed the Hon. Anita Josey-Herring as the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Today CCE released an issue brief entitled, "More Data is Needed on the Use of Solitary Confinement in D.C." The brief provides an overview of our efforts to get information and data about the use of solitary confinement - often referred to as restrictive housing or segregation - in D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities. It goes on to summarize the limited data that was provided after more than two years of protracted negotiations, and describes the inquiries that remain unanswered by DOC.

Our current Strategic Plan calls on CCE to publish certain race equity metrics and share progress on our goals annually. We want to ensure public accountability around our race equity goals. A new January 2024 report presents updates on progress made in 2023, and shares some demographic metrics we are tracking toward our overall diversity goals.

CCE's latest report, "D.C.'s Criminal Legal Systems Overview 2022" provides a summary of some of the most significant challenges and innovations faced by D.C.'s adult and youth criminal legal systems in 2022.

2023 report from the District Task Force on Jails & Justice on progress made in the last two years underscores the need for District-wide collaboration to transform D.C.’s criminal legal system.

Join CCE in celebrating our 40th anniversary by watching videos from our Oral History Project, where you will hear from longstanding leaders, community partners, and volunteers about CCE's work over the decades!