Independent Lens

Red Hook Justice (6x25)

Air date: May 24, 2005

In 2000, an experimental court opened in Brooklyn's Red Hook, a neighborhood plagued by a cycle of unemployment, poverty and crime. Instead of jail time, offenders are sentenced to job training, drug counseling and community service. This film follows the ups and downs of several defendants and staffers involved in a legal revolution that has become a model for courts nationwide.