Neighborhood Court is in session — and working fast.

Since being established in June — as a partnership among UC Davis, the city of Davis and the Yolo County district attorney’s office — this alternative to criminal court has heard 51 cases and adjudicated 30 of them, with each case stretching over 22 days, on average.

Fifteen cases originated at UC Davis.

Neighborhood Court is for low-level, nonviolent offenses such as public drunkenness and other alcohol-related incidents, petty theft and vandalism. Neighborhood Court is voluntary; the proceedings are confidential.

The process emphasizes the harm done by the defendants to other people and the community, and focuses on restorative justice — “making it right,” said Deputy District Attorney Christopher Bulkeley, who coordinates the program.

The court, as its name implies, comprises a panel of community members. In taking up a case, they discuss it with the defendant, and, when appropriate, the victim, too, and agree on a plan whereby the defendant acknowledges the harm done and sets out to repair it in some way.

For example, one plan called for offender to write a letter of apology to a grocery store for shoplifting. In a case of public drunkenness, the offender agreed to contact drug and alcohol counseling services on campus and complete whatever counseling they advised.

The district attorney’s office is seeking volunteers, including UC Davis students, to hear Neighborhood Court cases. For more information, contact Bulkeley at (530) 681-6323 or neighborhoodcourt@yolocounty.org.

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