Justice Roundtable – The Progressive Voice for Justice Reform
“Welcome to the Justice Roundtable’s policy website! As founder and convener of the Roundtable, I hope this website will be a valuable information source, enabling a congressional staffer, administration or agency official, advocate or journalist to have the advantage of “one-stop” shopping to access information that advances federal criminal justice policy reform. Resources on this website come primarily from Justice Roundtable partners and allies. We hope the site will increase the effectiveness and influence of the Washington criminal justice advocacy community in steering criminal justice policy toward progressive change, and serve as a valuable resource for new players to the field as well.” Nkechi Taifa, convener
Mission and Goals
The Justice Roundtable is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 organizations working to reform federal criminal justice laws and policies. Founded in 2002, the Roundtable’s mission is to bring value to the Justice Movement by coordinating the federal legislative and advocacy efforts of the Washington criminal justice advocacy community.
The goals of the Roundtable are to influence public policy at the federal level by:
- reducing mass incarceration and over-reliance on harsh punishment,
- eliminating racial disparities and promoting fairness and equity,
- providing effective alternatives to incarceration and new approaches to address crime and drug policy,
- emphasizing prevention over punishment,
- reintegrating formerly incarcerated people into society,
- bringing domestic justice policies into conformity with international human rights norms.
The Justice Roundtable serves as a hub for coordinating the legislative and advocacy efforts of its partners. In its first decade, the Roundtable was instrumental in the achievement of two major legislative victories that have begun to change the United States’ approach to criminal justice – the Second Chance Act of 2008 and the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. The passage of these bills did not occur in a vacuum. They were partly the result of strategic advocacy by Justice Roundtable Working Groups, which successfully focused the attention of legislators, the media, and the public on the importance of reentry and sentencing issues.
The Justice Roundtable convenes a quarterly assembly, working groups, and periodic public policy events.
Justice Roundtable Assembly
Each quarter, Roundtable partners and allies assemble to network, share information and updates, and provide strategic thinking to advance the Roundtable’s goals. Check our calendar and RSVP to join us at the next Roundtable discussion or event. Click here to view archived live stream footage and other videos.
Justice Roundtable Working Groups
The day-to-day work of the Roundtable is carried out through working groups which champion justice reform before the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.
- Commutations and Pardons Working Group
- Crimmigration Working Group
- Directly Impacted Peoples Working Group
- Drug Policy Reform Working Group
- Human Rights Working Group
- Faith in Action Working Group
- Law Enforcement Reform Working Group
- Pre-Trial and Courts
- Prison Reform Working Group
- Racial Justice Working Group
- Reentry Working Group
- Sentencing Reform Working Group
- State Issues Working Group
- Youth Justice Working Group
Conversations on Justice
The Justice Roundtable convenes periodic public policy events to provide forums to stimulate dialogue with authors, scholars, artists, distinguished leaders, experts, impacted people, and others who inspire action by sharing information about their justice reform work.
Justice Roundtable Executive Leadership Council
This governing body is comprised of the Justice Roundtable Director and Working Group Chairs, and develops recommendations for the Roundtable’s positions, actions and strategies.