Rethinking Youth Justice

Last week marked the final game of the season for Siegel’s Sluggers, the Center for Court Innovation's softball team named in honor of Alfred Siegel, our deputy director who passed away earlier this year.  While our team was narrowly defeated on the field, it accomplished its goal off the field. The team embodied Alfred Siegel’s gift of bringing people together.  All sections of our organization were represented on the team: research, technical assistance, operations, development, administration, etc. I have no doubt it would have brought a smile to Alfred’s face.  

Speaking of Alfred, we have created a small conference room in his honor, complete with a representative quotation on the wall: "You work in the system long enough, you see things that you think could be done better." I think the quote speaks to Alfred’s common sense, pragmatism, and modesty.

I'm sure these same qualities will be on display on October 8th at 6pm, when the New York City Bar hosts a panel in Alfred's honor.  Entitled Rethinking Youth Justice: A Panel Discussion on the Legacy of Alfred Siegel and the Future of Reform in New York, the panel will look both backwards and forwards, examining the work of Alfred's career and how he helped set the stage for future juvenile justice reform in New York.  The event is open to the public and will feature some of the great and the good whose lives intersected with Alfred, including Elizabeth Glazer from Mayor de Blasio's administration and Michael Jacobson of the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance.