Center for Justice Innovation x NYC OATH

Problem

Fines and fees can be financial burdens that strain those with limited means. With an influx of folks into the civil courts as part of NYC’s Criminal Justice Reform Act, an alternative to monetary penalties was needed in order to create a more fair, effective, and humane justice system.

Objective

Translate a dated, in-person community service option for resolving a civil summons, to a more equitable and accessible, digital experience, in the form of online courses.

Key Results

We created 1 and 2-hour long SCORM-compliant courses, available in 8 languages, which can be completed from any computer with internet access.

As of 2023, an average of about 400 people per quarter opt to take the online course, instead of paying fines.*

*Metrics are according to CRJA Quarterly Reports, via NYC Open Data

Research

Our work began with an initial phase of qualitative research where we attended a day in court, participated in the existing Quality of Life in-person course, interviewed participants before and after their sessions, and hosted several workshops with Subject Matter Experts from New York City's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH)

Discovery workshops were key for knowledge sharing and idea generation:

Vignette sketching helped add context and create consensus:

We used simple wireframe storyboards to hone content design details...

...Which were translated into detailed visuals to bring the experience to life.

Tenets of Procedural Justice

Importantly, we also familiarized ourselves with the 4 tenets of procedural justice, which underscored our work throughout this project:

• Treating court users with dignity and respect
• Ensuring they understand the process they're involved in
• Providing them a voice
• Communicating that court decisions are made neutrally.

Learning Objectives

The learning objectives we defined in our research phase form the core of the courses, and are communicated through several scenario-based games.

These games feature dozens of illustrated characters and objects, as well as settings and environments that reflect the city that our court users are familiar with.

Full Course Design

Scaffolded around the learning objectives are a variety of interactive features—like videos, conversations, motion graphics, narrative arcs, and quizzes. 

Important information about quality-of-life offenses and the local communities that are effected by them, are also included throughout the experiences. 

Access

As a final step, we also designed and built a portal for the courses on OATH's site, allowing court users to access the course from anywhere.

The portal tracks progress and automatically issues successful completion notifications to both the court user and on their summons record in OATH's LMS. 

Impact

Along with alleviating financial burdens for thousands of New Yorkers, the success of these courses played a role in the larger effort of decriminalizing many low-level quality of life offenses across the city, and are a meaningful step towards democratizing access to critical government services.

As a whole, this project serves as a model for Civil Alternative programs in cities across the US.

© 2025 Kristina Pedicone