Introduction
Dishonorable Courts is a non-governmental, non-profit, organization whose aim is to assist people in reporting U.S. government Departmental or Agency misconduct at the individual and/or organizational level anywhere in the Criminal Justice System.
Dishonorable Courts does this by accepting reports of misconduct from the general public and people incarcerated and then posting said reports on our site. We review the reports and then send the reporting individual(s) the information on which agency they need to report the misconduct to and how to report said misconduct. We also track the reports and update them as needed based on the results of the investigation.
Dishonorable Courts does not offer any form of legal advise to anyone at any time.
Background and Experience:
Dishonorable Courts was founded in 2017 by Larry Morrison. Mr. Morrison served twelve years in the Federal prison system for a drug related crime. As a product himself of the investigative and prosecutorial process himself, while serving his sentence alongside many others, his eyes were opened to the less than noble and righteous nature of the U.S. Criminal Justice System: that of rampant misconduct and abuse of power by those who are commissioned to serve it.
By its very nature, prisons are filled with a collection of lives whose stories are told through a common, complex, criminal justice system of laws and rules and process and procedures. The system is served by public and private servants, and government institutions that produce an all too common result: lengthy periods of incarceration for the lives moving through it.
Like many others in the Federal prison system, Mr. Morrison reflected on the outcome of his case, sought understanding of the complex process by which he lost so much of his liberty, and asked himself was I treated justly and fairly? He shared his story with others and listened to theirs. Personally outraged at how lives were being destroyed by an unfair, unjust, and corrupt system, he was moved to action. Through self-study and practical application, Mr. Morrison fought back, successfully challenging abusive and unjust treatment of other inmates he was serving time with, winning relief for some and shining a bright light on injustices for all to see.
While in prison, Mr. Morrison worked diligently with both prison staff and inmates. His focus was on the re-entry educational and skill building courses of instructions and programs. Through the support provided from the Release Preparation Program Coordinators of the various prisons where he served time, he designed, developed, and instructed more than 150 courses. Additionally, he offered help to other inmates who were fighting some aspect of their case through the courts or through the administrative review/resolution process of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), or researching how to report alleged acts of misconduct or abuse. Since most inmates have little or no financial resources of their own, they often times cannot afford legal representation or even afford the court costs associated with filings and thus must do it themselves (Pro-Se) for legal matters and request to proceed “In Forma Pauperis” (indigent) for court filing fees. As this is all too common a situation for incarcerated people, many cases with merit go unchallenged and unreported. Mr. Morrison assisted numerous fellow inmates in navigating their way through these cumbersome and complex processes.
Execution
The goal of Dishonorable Courts is to help the general public report misconduct. In order to do this, we have formulated a five step process:
1. First, we receive a report from someone who has experienced some form of misconduct. Reports may be made through our online submission form, through inmate email or through regular postal mail.
2. Next, we do a cursory review to ensure the report is something that is actual misconduct and that it is in a format that is easy to understand by our reviewing agents and the general public. During the initial review we redact information we deem inappropriate for the general public (a reporting individuals personal information, the names of anyone who may be under the age of 18, etc.)
3. After the cursory review we post the report on our website, www.dishonorablecourts.org, in the unreviewed section. This report then goes into a queue to await formal review.
4. When the review comes up in the queue, a reviewing agent begins a formal review. This review is quite exhaustive, and it is focused on finding examples of alleged misconduct and explaining how to report this alleged misconduct to the persons reporting the alleged misconduct to our site. We then post the review in our reviewed section under the categories connected to the individuals who have allegedly committed an act of misconduct. We also send copies of this review to our various mailing lists.
5. Finally, we keep in contact with the individuals who reported the misconduct and update the review whenever new information is received. If the alleged act of misconduct is found to be incorrect, we post this with the official statement by the agency that issued the formal investigation as well as send copies of the official statement to our various mailing lists.
Closing
Dishonorable Courts is designed to help raise public awareness of the Criminal Justice system. We believe that there is no greater crime than that of those in power abusing their privilege to manipulate and control those who do not understand the power they hold.
All governmental figures, from a sitting Judge, to a state Senator, are privileged individuals. Their privilege comes at the discretion of those who they are chosen to judge and lead. We the people of the United States of America have a right and a duty to ensure that privilege is not abused, and that comes from voting into power those who will use the privilege of leadership we grant them to help those of us they are chosen to lead.
When someone reports alleged misconduct, it is normally reviewed by the friends of those in power. It is done behind closed doors, and it is placed in a system of review that is both cumbersome and confusing. This leads most of those who have been abused to become fearful of reporting an allegation, and those who do report alleged misconduct to find the channels they have to report the allegation extremely hard to navigate.
Dishonorable Courts helps to ensure that an individual who reports an allegation of misconduct is not alone and has nothing to fear. We also seek to ensure that those brave enough to step forward know not only how to make a report of alleged misconduct, but also how to direct the allegation quickly and efficiently.