Episode 5: Can Simple, Affordable Ideas Improve Courts’ Costly Failure-to-Appear Rates?

Failure to appear in criminal cases can lead defendants to jail time, draining resources from police, courts, and taxpayer dollars. But according to Alissa Fishbane, managing director at ideas42, a nonprofit think tank, the solution may be cheaper and easier than expected. A2J Lab Faculty Director Jim Greiner spoke with Fishbane in this episode of Proof Over President about her research into informational gaps that may be a root cause for several court issues like failure to appear and payment of traffic tickets.

Read the corresponding blog post.

Speakers:

• Jim Greiner, Honorable S. William Green Professor of Public Law at Harvard Law School; Faculty Director of the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School
• Alissa Fishbane, Managing Director, ideas42

Resources mentioned:

• ideas42
• What Really Prevents Court Appearance?: Survey Findings from People Who Failed to Appear in Two Counties, Crime and Justice Institute, Feb. 2025
• New York City Summons Redesign, ideas42
• Stamping Out Missed Court Dates, ideas42
• Paying the Price: New Mexico’s Practice of Arresting and Incarcerating People for Nonpayment of Court Debt, Vera Institute of Justice

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Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School