Pioneering the CJCJ court services model as a way to address problems plaguing the over-worked public defense system.
CJCJ provides comprehensive, culturally-appropriate, gender-responsive, individually-tailored expert witness testimony, court navigation, and case mitigation services. Our necessary and unique services are fueled by the purpose and passion gained from decades of experience working with and engaging the criminal justice system at all levels.
Our services are available for expert support and consulting in state and federal civil litigation cases that involve correctional practices, policies and management’s staff provides experts analysis on issues that include:
CJCJ’s litigation support services has helped facilitate major correctional reforms in numerous states and jurisdictions including Hawaii, California, and the District of Columbia. For case studies of CJCJ’s work, you can view Juvenile Corrections Reform in Hawai’i, and Juvenile Corrections Reform in California.
CJCJ has provided sentencing reports and expert testimony in select criminal cases in state and federal courts since 1986. CJCJ sentencing services involve conducting background analysis and case research that includes the development of innovative sentencing options for defendants facing imprisonment.
CJCJ prioritizes serious cases where defendants have long histories of justice system involvement or incarceration. Areas of specialized expertise include the effects of long-term confinement and how the prison experience impacts later behavior. The impact of previous incarceration and the shaping of later behavior is an often-overlooked mitigation topic in sentencing hearings – especially in death penalty cases where the person spent their formative years in violent juvenile facilities. When the state fails to provide a safe environment where inmates have access to treatment and rehabilitative services, the goal of successful community reintegration is acutely undermined.
CJCJ staff have been active in the field of alternative sentencing and community-based services for nearly 40 years. Agency staff have compiled a network of resources and information on sentencing alternatives throughout California.
Daniel Macallair is CJCJ’s Executive Director and a leading expert on sentencing policy and practice in California for nearly 40 years. He has been an advisor to numerous statewide policy bodies, including the Little Hoover Commission’s Advisory Committees on Sentencing & Parole Reform, and the Corrections Oversight Project. He has testified in over 200 adult and juvenile high profile sentencing cases including death penalty cases involving defendant’s with histories of prior institutional confinement.
Mr. Macallair’s research and publications have appeared in such journals as the Stanford Law and Policy Review, American Jurisprudence, Journal of Crime and Delinquency, Youth and Society, Journal of Juvenile Law, and the Western Criminology Review. His studies and commentary are often cited in national and international news outlets including the BBC, CBS Evening News, ABC Nightly News, NBC Evening News, CNN, FOX News, the Today Show, National Public Radio, New York Times, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and Los Angeles Times.
He is a Practioner-in_Residence in the Department of Criminal Justice Studies at San Francisco State University and is an invited speaker and trainer at conferences and seminars throughout the country. Mr. Macallair has conducted numerous studies on California prison policy and the state’s juvenile corrections system. He is the author of After the Doors Were Locked: A History of Youth of Youth Correction in California and the Origins of Twenty First Century Reform (2015).
Daniel Macallair guest pieces
February 24, 2024, Australian public radio program ABC Radio National — Rear Vision
Tough on Crime: a history of putting kids in prison
July 27, 2023, KQED Forum California State Youth Detention Facilities Are Closed. What Happens to Incarcerated Youth Now?
February 27, 2017, Macallair Testimony on Sentencing Reform to the Assembly Budget and Public Safety Subcommittee
Gerald Miller is CJCJ’s Director of Community-Based Services. He joined CJCJ after 12 years with the internationally renowned Delancey Street Foundation, a residential alternative to prison program, where he directed the Institute for Social Renewal and conducted eligibility interviews. Mr. Miller has implemented model community-based services for special needs offenders, including an intensive case management reentry program for violent offenders returning to the community from state prison. He recently established and directed a pilot reentry program for the US Federal Courts and a resentencing program for the San Francisco District Attorney.
Mr. Miller has served on the advisory boards of a number of community and civic organizations, including two terms with the San Francisco Reentry Council. He often testifies on California prison conditions based on his personal experience in the system and his years of experience in working with the current and formerly incarcerated.
Maureen Washburn, MA (she/her) is a Senior Policy Manager at CJCJ. Since joining in 2016, she has authored numerous reports including Unmet Promises: Continued Violence and Neglect in California’s Division of Juvenile Justice, that contributed to Governor Newsom’s decision to permanently close the state’s youth corrections system.
She holds an MS in public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and a BA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Grecia Reséndez (she/her) Grecia holds a B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Public Affairs from the Goldman School of Public Policy. Additionally, she earned a certificate as an Independent Forensic Gang Expert from Loyola Law School. Her research includes, education, the school-to-prison-pipeline, Latinos in higher education, California youth prisons and juvenile justice facilities. She has authored numerous reports and has testified in the California Legislature.