Statements

Mission

Choosing Justice Initiative provides high quality, holistic, and client-centered representation to people directly impacted by Tennessee's criminal legal system while working with them to create more equitable, less punitive options for addressing harm in our community outside of that system.

Background

Choosing Justice Initiative (CJI) was founded in late 2018 by former Nashville Public Defender Dawn Deaner (2008-2018). Its origins are rooted in her experiences as a public defender, and the problems she saw in Tennessee's court-appointed counsel system. Those problems include significant underfunding, the absence of quality standards and oversight, inherent conflicts of interest for judges making appointments and lawyers accepting them, and a siloed approach designed to process cases rather than help people, or produce anything close to justice for them. These structural deficiencies create disparities in outcomes for people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer, and contribute to the injustice of our two-tiered criminal legal system, aptly described by Bryan Stevenson as one where the wealthy and guilty are treated better than the innocent and poor.

With this frame of reference, Dawn sought to create a place in Nashville where people in need of a court-appointed lawyer after an arrest could find the kind of high-quality representation they wanted and needed to achieve meaningful justice. With the encouragement and generous support of family, colleagues and friends, including initial investors Martin S. Brown, Sr. and Joan Shayne, that dream became a reality when CJI opened its doors in November 2018.

CJI is a non-profit law firm that offers people who have been arrested and cannot afford to hire a lawyer something unavailable anywhere else in Tennessee - access to civil legal representation and social service supports from the same team of professionals representing them in their criminal case. Unlike the narrow focus of the traditional appointed counsel system, CJI's holistic approach helps people address underlying or collateral problems that may have contributed to or followed their arrest. The results are better case outcomes, reduced future involvement in the legal system, and healthier people.

CJI also advocates in various forums to reduce and eliminate unjust policies and practices that disproportionately harm marginalized people and communities, in a court system that operates largely from a punitive framework. CJI's work involves expanding that framework to include more restorative and transformative justice options, because justice means different things to different people. CJI's vision is a Nashville where everyone experiences justice.

Impact

2022 Accomplishments
1. Provided 83 new clients with high quality, comprehensive legal representation that produced a positive impact in their lives
2. Prevailed in a civil rights lawsuit brought against the Tennessee Department of Correction and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation by a man who they illegally forced to comply with the Sex Offender Registry and other punitive sex offender parole restrictions
3. Led an advocacy campaign to convince Nashville judges to stop assessing court costs in criminal cases to people who do not have the ability to pay them
4. Provided public education on the role of judges in our court system in advance of judicial elections
5. Secured early release from prison for two people who were sentenced under harsh drug-free-school-zone law that was repealed by Tennessee legislature

2023 Goals
1. Refocus our systemic advocacy reform work on improving Tennessee's woefully inadequate court-appointed counsel system
2. Increase involvement of formerly incarcerated and directly impacted people in our work
3. Cultivate and promote restorative justice alternatives to our court system in collaboration with Raphah Institute (a partner non-profit organization in Nashville)
4. Develop CJI's next 5-year strategic plan in time for our fifth year anniversary in November
5. Create a development plan to help grow our resources so we can serve more Nashvillians

Needs

CJI's most pressing needs are:
1) Funding to support our civil legal services work. We do not charge our clients any fees, and we do not receive any government funding for this work.
2) Funding to support our work to reform Tennessee's court-appointed counsel system.
2) Increasing support for and public awareness of CJI's work, including through CJI's website and social media platforms.
3) Growing our Board of Directors to include directly impacted individuals and greater diversity of skills and life experiences.

CEO Statement

CJI will celebrate its fifth anniversary in November 2023. We are currently developing our strategic plan for the next five years, searching for a development coordinator, and planning to expand our Board of Directors by 2024.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Crime & Legal - Related  - Legal Services
Secondary Category:	Crime & Legal - Related  - Administration of Justice
Tertiary Category:	-