There are 16 article(s) tagged Josh Spickler:

• January 2021

  • Calkins: Times they are a-changin', as the NFL throws its support behind Just City

    The NFL has granted $200,000 to Just City as part of the league’s social justice initiative. The money is important – but so is the message the money sends.

    By Geoff Calkins January 08, 2021

• October 2020

  • Police reform discussion focuses on questions of what is real change

    Former Memphis City Council member Harold Collins and Just City Director Josh Spickler said on “Behind The Headlines” that for all of the talk of changing police, MPD is still policing the way it has for decades. 

    By Bill Dries October 16, 2020

• March 2020

  • Exclusive: COVID threat triggers jail bailouts

    As the number of COVID-19 cases in Shelby County continue to rise, Just City, a nonprofit criminal justice reform organization, is armed with $50,000 from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization and another $25,000 from an anonymous donor with the intention of bailing out several Shelby County Jail inmates this week who are believed to be vulnerable to the virus.

    By Marc Perrusquia March 24, 2020

  • Coronavirus threatens vulnerable jail population

    Reform advocates say more efforts need to be made to ensure the poor aren't being put at undue risk in jail during the coronavirus threat. Judges say it can be complicated. 

    By Marc Perrusquia March 20, 2020

  • Criminal justice advocate urges release of juvenile detainees

    A criminal justice reform advocate is calling for all youngsters detained in Shelby County’s juvenile detention center to be released immediately to reduce the impact of the coronavirus.

    By Yolanda Jones March 19, 2020

• January 2020

  • Behind the Headlines Podcast: Juvenile justice

    Executive Director of Just City Josh Spickler discusses juvenile justice in Shelby County with host Eric Barnes and Daily Memphian reporter Bill Dries.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff January 17, 2020

  • Question of new or renovated juvenile detention center could renew debate over size

    Just City executive director Josh Spickler said on the WKNO program “Behind The Headlines” that Juvenile Court needs more resources for children in detention. But he said the question of which children and how many wind up in detention or tried as adults should take priority over the details of the bricks and mortar.

    By Bill Dries January 17, 2020

  • Records show increase, racial disparity in juvenile transfers to adult court

    Children transferred from juvenile court to adult court is on the rise. Last year, 90 children were charged as adults and almost all are African American.

    By Yolanda Jones January 13, 2020

• August 2019

  • Movie, panel discussion highlight flaws of criminal justice system

    A panel discussion and viewing of the film "Brian Banks" gave young people a lesson in how the criminal justice system works and how they interact with it.

    By Linda A. Moore August 15, 2019

• March 2019

  • Memphis advocates back Lee’s plan to drop expungement fee

    Gov. Bill Lee calls for eliminating the $180 state expungement fee to make it easier for people to wipe their records clean, advocates say. The move drew wide praise from those in Memphis.

    By Sam Stockard March 01, 2019

• February 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

  • Parkinson pushes expedited expungement fee

    Offenders eligible for expungement could pay a $250 fee to speed up the process of clearing their criminal record.

    By Sam Stockard January 24, 2019

• December 2018

  • Detention center funding decision taps larger criminal justice system concerns

    County commissioner Tami Sawyer and activist Josh Spickler discuss flaws in the juvenile justice system and the roles a new assessment center and new juvenile detention center might play in reforming the system. 

    By Bill Dries December 28, 2018

• November 2018

  • Shelby County eliminates phone call costs for juvenile detainees

    Shelby County has reached an agreement with its inmate telephone services vendor, Global Tel, to eliminate charges on all phone calls made by juveniles to their parents or guardians and vice-versa, Mayor Lee Harris announced Monday.

    By Omer Yusuf November 20, 2018

• October 2018

  • Court orders state to stop suspending licenses of people too poor to pay debt

    Tens of thousands of Tennesseans whose licenses were suspended because they were too poor to pay court debt won a major victory this week when a judge ruled in their favor against the state.

    By Sam Stockard October 18, 2018

• September 2018

  • Cost of traffic fines, fees limiting opportunities for thousands of Memphians

    About 18,000 times each year, the state of Tennessee suspends the driver’s license of a Shelby County resident for failure to pay traffic fines and fees, according to data obtained by the nonprofit advocacy organization Just City. A disproportionate number of those drivers are black, making the fines a social justice issue, said Just City executive director Josh Spickler.

    By Yolanda Jones September 17, 2018