A full record of the briefs, letters, rule changes, and project milestones behind our work — search or filter by year to find a specific one.
New provider partnerships, better internal systems, and court referrals drove the program's biggest year yet.
A proposed rule change would end fee reimbursement for interpreters in criminal cases — we argued it should cover every case, because equal access to courts is the court's job, not the litigant's.
Judges and advocates, including our own perspective from Street Outreach Court, discussed how specialty courts like homeless courts reframe what "justice" looks like.
We shared our model with community activists, defense lawyers, and other advocates working to reduce incarceration statewide.
A new case management app connecting participants, providers, and the court helped drive the program's best year yet.
The site tracks how courts and agencies measure up against best practices on the issues we work on.
A 2019 push by Street Democracy helped end a rule that trapped people without a license for years over minor violations.
With the Fines and Fees Justice Center and The Rutherford Institute, we argued that punishing people for sleeping outside when no shelter is available violates the Eighth Amendment.
The program's strongest numbers since 2019, as providers rebuilt their referral pipeline.
The partnership that started with one program grew into statewide legal support.
The brief addresses how court reliance on fines and fees revenue can compromise judicial impartiality.
After a year of rebuilding intake processes, the program's numbers crossed back over 1,000 cases closed.
Street Democracy helped draft the legislation in 2019; it became law in December 2022.
A joint request urges Michigan school districts to formally commit to restorative, non-exclusionary discipline.
We backed proposed amendments to Michigan Court Rule 4.201 aimed at giving tenants more notice and protection in eviction cases.
The partnership expands direct legal services to more homeless service providers and their clients.
Intake slowed as providers shifted to virtual operations and trained new staff mid-pandemic, but the program held.
The Michigan Supreme Court declined our 2017 request for a resource sheet requirement, then adopted one anyway during the pandemic.
The program moved to virtual operations rather than shut down, and helped Flint and other cities launch homeless courts of their own.
With Senator Stephanie Chang and Representative Padma Kuppa, we pushed the Michigan Public Service Commission to make its Lifeline provider list actually useful — and it worked.
We represented 482Forward in a landmark lawsuit over Detroit schools, centering students' own words, art, and testimony in the legal record.
Street Democracy advised partners on how the state could join the program after pandemic restrictions blocked SNAP recipients from delivery.
Street Democracy and more than 160 self-represented litigants petitioned for the change, arguing phone access is essential for people without attorneys.
The map translates constitutional rights and the Rethink Discipline law into a clear guide for schools and advocates.
The model spread beyond Detroit that year too, with Street Democracy helping Colorado Springs and Flint launch their own homeless courts.
Street Democracy's research points to a low-cost way courts could improve outcomes for people on probation: hire differently.
The Rethink coalition raised concerns about school discipline practices with the state's School Justice Partnership.
After federal school discipline guidance was rescinded, Street Democracy and the Rethink coalition pushed the state to keep it in place — and won.
After a two-year hiatus, the program's 2018 comeback nearly matched its pre-pause numbers.
The pilot replaced fines with support like job training and benefits help — and the results were striking: lower housing instability, lower recidivism, and more trust in the courts.
After a 2017 letter went unanswered, we built a coalition of education advocacy organizations to speak with one voice on school discipline reform.
Street Democracy pushed the state to fix court forms that never told defendants about their right to a payment alternative — and the courts adopted most of our recommendations.
After a two-year approval process — capped by a sheriff personally driving to collect the last signatures — the program reopened in 2018 with full formal approval.
A pilot program in the 31st District Court tested alternatives to fines and incarceration.
Street Democracy helped pass Public Acts 360–366 of 2016, replacing automatic expulsions with restorative practices.
Street Democracy and its clients pushed for the change — and three clients traveled to Lansing to testify about what pay-or-stay sentencing cost them.
When Volunteers of America Michigan's legal partner kept turning away referrals, we built a program designed to say yes.
The program's fourth year showed exponential growth in graduates and case closures.
By 2014, graduates and cases closed had both doubled from the year before.
In 2013, the program's growth showed the model was taking hold, closing 343 cases.
In 2012, the program proved that bringing court to people experiencing homelessness works.
The Detroit Action Commonwealth and Street Democracy independently discovered Ann Arbor's homeless court model — then built Detroit's own version together.
A proposed rule would make it a crime to ask for help or share a message at Michigan roadside stops without special charity permission — we say that violates the First Amendment.