A new study (PDF) of the District of Columbia Superior Court's East of the River Community Court project offered the first statistical proof of what judges, attorneys and court-watchers have said for years: that the program brought down rates of reoffending among misdemeanor defendants.

The East of the River Community Court program was created in September 2002. A single judge heard almost all cases for misdemeanor crimes committed in the 6th and 7th police districts, which spanned Wards 7 and 8. The judge could send defendants through diversion programs or special treatment courts, with the idea that as a judge grew familiar with a community, he or she would have a better understanding of what was needed to keep someone from reoffending.