Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Homestead and Wolfson Campuses will soon host Where’s the Justice? Forums. The community discussions, addressing inequality and improving the criminal justice system, are free and open to the public.
Forums are Tuesday, Apr. 5, 6 p.m., at Wolfson Campus, Chapman Building 3, Room 3210, 300 NE Second Ave., and Monday, Apr. 11, 6 p.m., Homestead Campus, Building F, Room F222, 500 College Terr.
The forums are in collaboration with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Spanish American League Against Discrimination (SALAD), and the Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos J. Martinez.
Panelists include the Hon. Carlos J. Martinez, Miami-Dade Public Defender; Michelle Ortiz, deputy director, Americans for Immigrant Justice; Juan J. Perez, director, Miami-Dade Police Department; Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, Miami Police Department; Al Rolle, Chief, Homestead Police Department, and representatives from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.
The dialogue is designed to raise community awareness and find solutions to the barriers of success created by the justice system. The following topics will be addressed:
• Forcing individuals to represent themselves in criminal court;
• Discussing alternatives to unnecessary arrests and convictions for minor infractions;
• Promoting cash register justice through the imposition of fines and fees, and
• Identifying immigration and other consequences of a criminal conviction.
MDC also has hosted successful forums at its Kendall and North campuses.
For more information, contact Tania Acosta, Director of Homestead Campus Administration, 305-237-5219, email tacosta1@mdc.edu, or Jaime Anzalotta, Interim Dean of Students Wolfson Campus, 305-237-3007, email janzalot@mdc.edu.
