Criminal Justice Reform

Topic

An area of policy reform that Nicole Shanahan supports. Her past donations to progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin are noted as a point of concern for David Sacks.


First Mentioned

1/1/2026, 6:10:50 AM

Last Updated

1/1/2026, 6:16:05 AM

Research Retrieved

1/1/2026, 6:16:05 AM

Summary

Criminal justice reform is a multifaceted movement aimed at restructuring legal and penal systems to address systemic issues such as mass incarceration, racial profiling, police brutality, and recidivism. It operates across various stages of the justice system, including lawmaking, policing, sentencing, and prisoner reentry. In the United States, the movement has gained significant bipartisan support, with major organizations like the ACLU and the Koch family foundations collaborating on reform initiatives. The topic is also a central pillar in contemporary political platforms, such as that of Nicole Shanahan, the vice-presidential running mate for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 2024. Key legislative efforts have focused on reducing sentencing disparities and eliminating practices like cash bail to ensure a more equitable system.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Key Domains

    Lawmaking, policing, sentencing, incarceration, and reentry

  • Core Objectives

    Reducing mass incarceration, racial profiling, police brutality, and recidivism

  • Political Status

    Bipartisan support in the United States

  • Legislative Focus

    Sentencing disparities, cash bail elimination, and victims' rights

Timeline
  • President Barack Obama signs the Fair Sentencing Act to reduce sentencing disparities. (Source: The White House Archives)

    2010-08-03

  • A bipartisan coalition including the ACLU and Koch foundations announces a resolution to reform the U.S. criminal justice system. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2015-01-01

  • The Illinois Legislature passes the Pretrial Fairness Act, abolishing money bond. (Source: Innovating Justice)

    2021-01-01

  • Nicole Shanahan is selected as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate, highlighting criminal justice reform in her platform. (Source: All-In Podcast Episode 172)

    2024-03-26

Criminal justice reform

Criminal justice reform is the reform of criminal justice systems. Stated reasons for criminal justice reform include reducing crime statistics, racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, under-reporting, and recidivism or improving Victims' rights, Prisoners' rights and crime prevention. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the criminal justice system intervenes in citizens’ lives, including lawmaking, policing, and sentencing.

Web Search Results
  • Criminal justice reform in the United States

    Criminal justice reform seeks to address structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Reforms can take place at any point where the criminal justice system intervenes in citizens' lives, including lawmaking, policing, sentencing and incarceration. Criminal justice reform can also address the collateral consequences of conviction, including disenfranchisement or lack of access to housing or [...] In 2015 a number of reformers, including the ACLU, the Center for American Progress, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Koch family foundations, the Coalition for Public Safety, and the MacArthur Foundation, announced a bipartisan resolution to reform the criminal justice system in the United States. Their efforts were lauded by President Obama who noted these reforms will improve rehabilitation and workforce opportunities for those who have served their sentences. [...] ## Reform organizations [edit] Several non-profits, organizations, and initiatives also focus on criminal justice reform including the ACLU, Campaign Zero, Right on Crime, The Innocence Project, The Sentencing Project, and the Marshall Project. The goals of these organizations is to spread awareness about perceived injustices within the criminal justice system and to promote action against it through social and policy change.

  • An Overview of Criminal Justice Reform in the United States

    offering of criminal justice reforms that are already making this goal a reality. This brochure, created in partnership by the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States of America and the Center for Justice Innovation, provides an overview of criminal justice reform in the United States, walking through the broad continuum of public safety and criminal justice from crime prevention at the community level to corrections and reentry. At each point along this continuum, the reader will be [...] Of course, the Swiss system has its many challenges. Resocialization can fail, and recidivism remains an issue. Continuous reforms are needed to improve and adapt the system. When working on criminal justice reforms, the rights and interests of all stakeholders—victims, society, and (alleged) perpetrators—have to be taken into account. The human rights dimension in particular plays an important role in this process. [...] In January 2021, the Illinois Legislature passed its Pretrial Fairness Act, abolishing money bond and limiting the use of pretrial detention to cases involving a concrete flight or safety risk. Among other measures, these comprehensive reforms prevent people from being held in jail simply because they cannot afford bail, make pretrial detention a last resort, and promote transparency in the legal system by ensuring that data related to pretrial decisions are made publicly available.

  • Criminal Justice Reform - Center for Social Justice Online ...

    A critical examination of how contemporary criminal justice reforms expand rather than shrink structurally violent systems of policing, surveillance, and carceral control in the United States. Public opposition to the structural racist, gendered, and economic violence that fuels the criminal legal system is reaching a critical mass. Ignited by popular uprisings, protests, and campaigns against state violence, demands for transformational change have escalated. In response, a now deeply [...] Provides a holistic and comprehensive examination of issues related to criminal justice reform in the United States from a multidisciplinary perspective. Divided into five key domains of reform in the criminal justice system, it analyzes: Policing; Policy and sentencing; Reentry; Treatment; Alternatives to incarceration. [...] Each section provides a history and overview of the domain within the criminal justice system, followed by chapters discussing issues integral to reform. The volume emphasizes decreasing incarceration and minimizing racial, ethnic and economic inequalities. Each section ends with tangible recommendations, based on evidence-based approaches for reform.

  • NICJR | Home

    # Saving Lives, Transforming Systems, Improving Outcomes. NICJR works to reduce violence and transform the youth and criminal justice systems. About Us The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) works to reduce incarceration and violence, improve the outcomes of system-involved youth and adults, and increase the capacity and expertise of the organizations that serve these individuals.

  • Criminal Justice Reform | The White House

    Since taking office, the Administration has worked to enhance fairness and efficiency at all phases of the criminal justice system, including the President signing the Fair Sentencing Act, the Department of Justice launching the Smart on Crime initiative, and the creation of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Read more about actions President Obama has taken to reform the criminal justice system. [...] Building on his commitment to address instances of unfairness in sentencing, President Obama has commuted the sentences of more men and woman than the past six presidents combined. Commutations underscore the President’s commitment to using all the tools at his disposal to bring greater fairness and equity to our justice system. To further this progress, the President has established a clemency initiative to encourage individuals who were sentenced under outdated laws and policies to petition [...] Skip to Content Skip to Navigation This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. Main Menu Home # Criminal Justice Reform ## What You Need to Know about President Obama’s Plans for Criminal Justice Reform See the Topic Areas ## What's At Stake