By Bernice Young
San Francisco Chronicle

Though community courts have emerged as a popular and practical method for integrating problem-solving justice approaches, there is no single way to do it. Other examples include community policing and drug courts. But what these efforts have in common is an openness to include the voice of the community in the court process, a willingness to look at a defendant as something more than the perpetrator of a crime, and a desire to look to root causes and rehabilitation, rather than resorting to straight punishment.

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In the past week, more than two-thousand people have signed our petition to bring a Community Justice Center to the Union Square area to address quality-of-life concerns and help make sure more homeless San Franciscans are connected to social services.  The key to the Community Justice Center is that it will have everything under one roof: criminal justice agencies, social service providers and judges.  A similar program has worked in New York City and we think it will help create a better living environment and change lives in San Francisco.  Read more »

Mayor Newsom wants to bring a community court to Union Square to address quality of life concerns, like aggressive panhandling, public urination, and graffiti.  The new court will be modeled after Manhattan's highly successful Midtown Community Court, which helped revitalize Times Square in the early 90s.  But, we need your support.  As Mayor Newsom said in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, "We're fighting against the status quo, and they're fighting for the status quo," he said of his opponents. "I'm not interested in fighting for failure."  Please sign our petition today.  Read more »