There are 33 article(s) tagged criminal justice:

• April 2019

  • Shelby County adds a third grand jury to reduce case backlog, jail wait times

    Shelby County has added a third grand jury in hopes of reducing the length of time defendants wait in jail while also whittling down the case backlog.

    By Omer Yusuf and Yolanda Jones April 03, 2019

• February 2019

  • Office of re-entry shifting focus to helping ex-offenders obtain living-wage jobs

    Over the past few months, Memphis and Shelby County Office of Re-Entry executive director Harold Collins has restructured the organization with the vision of those released from incarceration having a better chance at obtaining a living wage job.

    By Omer Yusuf February 18, 2019

  • Harris calls for focus to switch from tax breaks to more workforce investments

    County Mayor Lee Harris gave his first State of the County address Friday, calling for a new direction in the economic development discussion. 

    By Omer Yusuf February 15, 2019

  • Just City program trains volunteers to be eyes and ears in court

    Just City's Court Watch wants to have 100 volunteers trained by the end of year to observe court proceedings, from arraignments to trials, at 201 Poplar. 

    By Yolanda Jones February 12, 2019

• January 2019

  • Federal judge dismisses city from Darrius Stewart civil suit

    Court documents show the city of Memphis has been removed as a defendant from a civil suit filed by the mother of 19-year-old Darrius Stewart, who was killed in an officer-involved shooting in 2015. But the police officer who killed Stewart remains a defendant in the suit. 

    By Jared Boyd January 26, 2019

  • Five officers suspended after disturbance at juvenile detention center

    The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said a disturbance that resulted in $3,500 to $5,000 in damages at the juvenile detention center led to five corrections officers being suspended last week.

    By Yolanda Jones January 16, 2019

• October 2018

  • Activists see vindication in Memphis police surveillance court order

    For the last few years, Memphis activist Keedran Franklin said police have sat outside his office in an unmarked car. Some have followed him, and other officers he doesn’t know have approached him and addressed him by name.

    By Yolanda Jones October 31, 2018

  • Shelby County DA’s office won’t prosecute many revoked driver’s license cases

    For the last seven weeks, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has quietly dismissed more than 3,000 cases where people were charged with driving on suspended, revoked or canceled driver’s licenses.

    By Yolanda Jones October 20, 2018