Common Justice diverts younger adults (ages 16 to 24) facing at least one year of jail or prison from serious felony cases in Brooklyn's criminal court to a participatory process between parties in order to minimize the use of incarceration in cases where it does not serve the public interest, offer communities a safe and effective response to violence, and address the emotional and physical consequences arising from violent crime.

What Common Justice does

• Facilitated dialogues. In the aftermath of serious crime, if victims are amenable, Common Justice brings together in face-to-face dialogues the people immediately impacted (harmed party, responsible party, and community members with a stake in the outcome) to recognize the harm done, identify the needs and interests of the victim(s), and arrive at appropriate actions to hold the responsible party accountable.
• Supervision and Support. Staff provide monitoring and support to the responsible party to meet all of the terms of the agreement; if the agreement is completed, the party's felony plea is withdrawn and the person does not serve the lengthy jail or prison sentence that he or she would have faced.
• Victim services. The program serves the full range of people harmed by crime, including young men of color who are largely unrepresented in existing victim services despite being the most common targets of serious crimes.