By Mabel Malhotra and Will Cooley This legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers came together to decide which bills to pass during one of the most traumatic eras in our state’s history. The 2026 session came just eight months after State Representative Melissa Hortman’s tragic assassination, six months after a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church, and right in the thick of ICE’s occupation and terrorization of our state. In light of all this, the tied legislature was

The Justice for All Coalition (JFA) is made up of several organizations, including the Minnesota Justice Research Center, with the goal of meaningful legal system transformations that protect public safety while addressing and transforming those parts of the system that do more harm than good. Ahead of each legislative session, members submit proposals, which are voted on to be part of the coalition’s slate of policy priorities. From 29 proposals, 11 were selected for the 202

Here at the Minnesota Justice Research Center, we know the justice system isn’t just. That’s why we’re working to change it. We do things a little differently than traditional research organizations: we center the community and build bridges to transform our criminal legal system into one that is equitable, accountable, and restorative. What does that look like in action? Check out some of our accomplishments in 2025. We released our blueprint for a groundbreaking redesign of

By Alejandro Caceres-Aranda and Will Cooley The Problem of Prison Churn In 2019, over 60% of new admissions to Minnesota’s prisons resulted from supervision failures—this means that most of the people entering the facility had been there before, and were back for a violation of their supervision. These individuals comprised approximately 25% of the total prison population and cost taxpayers more than $77 million per year. On top of that, a significant number of these admissio

By Will Cooley and Mabel Malhotra The Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) has been engaged in a multi-year effort to improve our state’s community supervision system focus on safely reintegrating people into the community, reducing revocations, and ensuring public safety. On October 23, 2025, we hosted a roundtable to discuss policies that can create more housing opportunities for Minnesotans on community supervision or otherwise impacted by the criminal legal system. W

Pictured: MNJRC and partners show up at the Capitol for Justice for All Day on the Hill in March 2025. As Minnesota’s 2025 Legislative Session comes to a close we wanted to share our reflections on the meaningful progress made towards an effective and humane justice system. The Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) was proud to engage justice impacted community members, advocates, researchers, and more throughout the legislative process. A piece of our work included testi

By the Minnesota Justice Research Center “I’m here to testify on HF 7 but more broadly on rebalancing our criminal legal system away from excess punishment to prevention.” On Tuesday, February 11, 2025, MNJRC Policy Director Dr. Will Cooley testified in front of the Minnesota House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, urging lawmakers to reject House File 7 (HF 7). The bill proposes longer sentences and mandatory minimums for certain crimes. In Dr. Cooley’s words, thes

By Sumaya Mohamed, Government Affairs Specialist at Firefly Advocacy On Thursday, February 8th, 2024, the Justice for All Coalition hosted its 2nd Annual Legislative Preview at the Sabathani Community Center. The event brought together a diverse panel of professionals, policymakers, and community members to discuss the theme of "Moving Toward a Just Minnesota." Here's a recap of the insightful discussions and key takeaways from the event. Building a Legal System Rooted in Rac

By Ta’Mara Hill, MNJRC Policy Director Minnesota is no stranger to difficult conversations about race or public safety. We’ve come a long way. It wasn’t long ago that speaking of such issues was considered inappropriate or polarizing in many communities. Though still polarizing for some, now we see these issues as a place to collaborate and unite. However, often these vital conversations still happen in silos; they take place behind the closed doors of legislative offices, in

By Zeke Caligiuri with contributions from LaLinda Xiong and Antonio Williams Minnesota shows up to the polls. Often we are near the top of the country in voter turnout. However, conspicuously absent from last fall’s election were the votes of an estimated 50,000 (Uggen et al., 2022) Minnesotans who remain unable to vote because of a felony conviction, the vast majority (71%) of whom are out of prison serving parole or probation. Felony Disenfranchisement has become something

By Anna Odegaard, MABC