ALC Joins Legal Advocates in Urging Parker Administration to Abandon Proposed “Neighborhood Wellness Courts”
On December 17, 2024, the Abolitionist Law Center cosigned a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania to Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer highlighting concerns with the constitutional implications of the city’s proposed plans for “Neighborhood Wellness Courts” (NWC). More than a dozen individuals representing a cross-section of members of the Philadelphia legal services community signed the letter as well.
The letter asserts that the scant public information about the courts indicates they will “perpetuate harmful treatment of people in the Kensington neighborhood and place their constitutional rights at risk.” The letter also seeks to echo “the many impacted persons and professionals in this space who call on the City to abandon reactionary carceral approaches, and instead focus on housing, evidence-based treatment modalities, and evidence-based harm reduction interventions.”
The authors urge the Parker Administration “to abandon its proposal in favor of a plan that more meaningfully addresses the root causes of the issues many Kensington residents face.” They then highlight how the NWC would likely violate various constitutional and legal rights of the people brought before them while also risking their physical safety.