ABOUT PHIL HADDAD

During my time at the John Marshall Law School, I was involved with the Restorative Justice Project. Because I was a part of this program, I gained an important holistic insight to the continual evolution in law. Traditional justice relies almost exclusively on retribution through an adversarial system. However, I believe in initiatives for a revitalized bureau and a flexible approach to justice that not only focuses on the needs of victims and offenders, but the communities as well.

Prior to law school, I studied coursework that revolved heavily around the criminal justice system. I also volunteered to work with inner city youths at the Better Boys Foundation, a program that supports juveniles through a developmentally-appropriate curriculum. This experience exposed me to a clearer understanding of the conditions that elevates the crime level, including: the effects of poverty, low educational attainment, poor schools, lack of resources for mental health and substance abuse, and a police and court system that incarcerates a disproportionate number of African Americans and Latinos.