If it is doable, it can be demonstrated. If it is doable, it must be demonstrated.
The RISE Partnership is the 501(c)(3) corporation that partners with and supports federal Reentry Courts and federal supervisees. Our purpose is to make a demonstrable difference in people’s lives.
Reentry Courts help individuals from prison reentering society build stable and meaningful lives, guided by a unique bond with a federal judge.
The judge meets regularly in court with these individuals, and is joined by a team that can include probation officers, therapists, employment specialists, pro bono attorneys, federal defenders, and others..
Reentry Courts appeared in 2010 in New York City and Philadelphia. They were encouraged by Attorney General Eric Holder. There is currently no designated federal funding for these courts.
The late Federal Judge Harold Baer presided over the first Reentry Court in New York City. He was assisted by his law clerk Hakeem Jefferies, now Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
In Philadelphia, Third Circuit Court Judge Felipe Restrepo and Magistrate Judge Timothy Rice established two Reentry Courts, the STAR Court (Supervision to Aid Re-Entry), which continue to serve as a national model.
Inspired by the STAR Court, Federal Judge Denise Cote initiated the RISE Court (Reentry through Intensive Supervision and Employment) in the Southern District of New York, which has grown to five courts in Manhattan and White Plains, New York.
Building on the experience of the RISE Court and with the assistance of Judge Cote, Federal Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall became the first presiding judge of the RAISE Court (Reentry Assistance and Initiatives Supporting Everyone) in the Eastern District of New York, later joined by Federal Judge Ramon Reyes.
Other significant Reentry Courts exist in Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and elsewhere, whose stories will unfold in these pages.
