Justice Resource Center

The Justice Resource Center (JRC) is the leading provider of law-related and civic education for the school-age population. Our history has defined the work we do at the JRC. The vision of the original founders of law-related education led the JRC to become an international model, demonstrating what can be done in inner cities around the world. The JRC is an outgrowth of a Mayoral Blue Ribbon Commission formed, in 1988, by the late Mayor Edward Koch, whose mission was to establish the first Law and Justice program in NYC public schools. The commission was led by a prominent attorney, Tom Evans, and the late Police Commissioner Benjamin Ward. The Commission members were heads of agencies throughout NYC. The first Law & Justice Institute was established at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School. After the first four years of the Law & Justice Institute, 99% of the students in that first-year program went on to college and the remaining 1% enrolled in the military. Based on its success, the program was replicated throughout the NYC public schools. The JRC is the center of law-related and civic education, offering schools around the world the opportunity to replicate any of the 30 different programs at the JRC. The JRC Board of Directors continues to engage and mobilize the legal community to support the JRC’s program.