Judges — Judges — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Judges

Defendants are regularly condemned to years, decades, or life in prison for minor infractions because of minimum sentencing statutes. If judges had more discretion in sentencing, then sentences could be more proportional to the crime, more specific to the individual defendant, and minimize the negative impact of minimum sentencing laws without inherently needing those laws repealed.

Posts in Judges

These Judges Can Have Less Training Than Barbers but Still Decide Thousands of Cases Each Year

“They are overseen by political appointees, selected through a process that often places connections over qualifications. It’s a system that’s unlike any other in the country, and one that has provided fertile ground for incompetence, corruption and other abuse, an investigation by The Post and Courier and ProPublica found. Over the past two decades, magistrates have accepted bribes, stolen money, forced themselves on women and sprung their friends from jail. They’ve flubbed trials, trampled over constitutional protections and mishandled even the most basic elements of criminal cases.“

ProPublica

November 27, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesNovember 27, 2019ProPublica, South Carolina, Magistrate JudgesComment

A liberal group wants Philly DA Larry Krasner on the Supreme Court. Yes, the U.S. Supreme Court.

““Our courts are filled with former prosecutors, but it’s been nearly 30 years since the Supreme Court has had a justice with a criminal defense background," Demand Justice cofounder Christopher Kang, a former deputy council to President Barack Obama, said in an emailed statement. “That is why Larry Krasner, who has been on the front lines fighting for a criminal justice system that works for everyone, is exactly the kind of bold champion for progressive values who can restore balance to the Supreme Court."“

Philadelphia Inquirer

October 18, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesOctober 18, 2019Philadelphia Inquirer, Larry Krasner, SCOTUSComment

Are a Disproportionate Number of Federal Judges Former Government Advocates?

“Or imagine you’re a diehard Ohio State football fan, and every time the Buckeyes play the Wolverines, three or four of the seven referees on the field are Michigan alums, while only one is an Ohio State alum. You’d most likely prefer a more balanced officiating crew because even though referees are required to be neutral, there are many close calls in football, and it’s reasonable to suppose that even the most conscientious referee might tend to shade those calls in favor of his alma mater. And of course, as any football fan knows, one call can decide a game—or even a whole season.“

Cato Institute

September 18, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesSeptember 18, 2019Cato InstituteComment

Is giving judges more discretion in sentencing the right reform? Lawmakers to decide

“The starting point of the deliberations is a stack of recommendations from a state commission that would give judges more discretion in how they sentence adults convicted of felonies. The change could help the state reduce its reliance on incarceration and move more toward rehabilitation of offenders. The goal of overhauling the criminal sentencing law is to improve the system by simplifying it, but there are key questions looming for lawmakers, said Rep. Roger Goodman, the Kirkland Democrat who is chairman of the House Public Safety Committee.“

The Olympian

August 25, 2019

Judges, SentencingPhillip ReevesAugust 25, 2019The Olympian, WashingtonComment

How judicial conflicts of interest are denying poor Texans their right to an effective lawyer

“For decades, Texans who can’t afford a lawyer have gotten caught in a criminal justice system that’s crippled by inadequate funding and overloaded attorneys. A growing body of caseload data — and a recent lawsuit — point to an even more fundamental hazard: the unchecked power of Texas judges.“

Texas Tribune

August 19, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesAugust 19, 2019Texas, Texas TribuneComment

How judicial elections contribute to mass incarceration

“A study by professors Christian Dippel of UCLA and Michael Poyker of Columbia University examined sentencing decisions in 10 state court systems from 1980 to 2018. North Carolina was one of three states where they found a statistically significant relationship between judicial elections and longer sentences.“

Facing South

July 31, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesJuly 31, 2019Facing South, North CarolinaComment

Criminal-justice reformers are repeating the mistake of tying judges’ hands

“Now pols like Mayor de Blasio, Gov. Cuomo and the Democratic-controlled Legislature are racing in the other direction — not just by forcing judges to release defendants without bail but also decriminalizing offenses, hamstringing cops and ending prosecution for certain crimes. “

New York Post

June 1, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesJune 1, 2019New York Post, New York CityComment

The Search for Progressive Judges

“In theory, judges should be impartial arbiters of justice, motivated by the law rather than politics. Since the birth of America, legal scholars and politicians have debated the best method to create an independent judiciary: Should it be elected, or appointed by other elected officials? That question has yet to be resolved, and currently each state institutes its own system for choosing local judges. However, the majority—87 percent as of 2015—of state-court judges are elected officials.“

The Atlantic

May 17, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesMay 17, 2019The Atlantic, PhiladelphiaComment

Seattle’s top prosecutor and public defender accuse presiding judge of improper conduct

“I’ve never seen a prosecutor and a defender unite to pursue a concern about judicial behavior … and I’ve never seen a judge do the things that this judge has been accused of doing, though I can make no judgment about whether these accusations are true or false.“

Seattle Times

April 25, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesApril 25, 2019Seattle Times, Seattle, WashingtonComment

Opinion: The Democratic Candidates Should Tell Us Now Who They’ll Put on the Supreme Court

“There is no shortage of quality names. High on my list would be Bryan Stevenson, a career death penalty opponent, consummate Supreme Court litigator and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Alabama. Or Michelle Alexander, former law clerk for Justice Harry Blackmun, civil rights lawyer and author of the canonical “The New Jim Crow.” (Ms. Alexander is also an opinion columnist for The New York Times.) Or Sherrilyn Ifill, a voting rights expert and head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the civil rights firm founded by Thurgood Marshall in 1940.“

New York Times

March 10, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesMarch 10, 2019New York Times, James Forman Jr, Bryan Stevenson, Michelle Alexander, Sherrilyn IfillComment

Judge denies Krasner office’s request to vacate death penalty in 1984 double murder

“A federal judge on Monday denied a request by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to vacate the death penalty for a Philadelphia man convicted of the 1984 strangulation and drowning deaths of a prominent pastor’s son and daughter-in-law in their East Mount Airy home.“

Philadelphia Inquirer

March 4, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesMarch 4, 2019Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Larry KrasnerComment

Could the pope’s call to end the death penalty keep Catholics off juries?

“But because of the anomalous way we select juries in capital cases, greater opposition to the death penalty among Catholics could, counterintuitively, increase the number of death sentences imposed in this country. Such opposition could even solidify judicial support for capital punishment. This paradox is possible because of a process called “death qualification,” in which a judge can disqualify certain prospective jurors who are opposed to executions. The pope’s sharpening of the Catholic position on the death penalty helps reveal the problems with this system.“

Washington Post

January 18, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesJanuary 18, 2019Washington Post, Catholic Church, Pope FrancisComment

Defending a Court’s Discretion To Allow Arguments for Conscientious Acquittal

“Throughout the entire Anglo-American legal tradition, the independence of citizen juries has been understood to be an indispensable structural check on executive and legislative power. This independence has traditionally implied that jurors would both understand the consequences of a conviction, and that they would possess the power of conscientious acquittal, or “jury nullification”—that is, the inherent prerogative to decline to convict a defendant, even if factual guilt is shown beyond a reasonable doubt, when convicting would work a manifest injustice.“

Cato Institute

December 20, 2018

JudgesPhillip ReevesDecember 20, 2018Cato Institute, Conscientious AcquittalComment

Ending the judicial vacancy crisis

‘Today, 126 positions on the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals are vacant. In fact, we’re in the longest period of triple-digit vacancies in 25 years. But the raw numbers don’t tell the full story, so, since the partisan environment is so bitter, let’s apply some standards advocated by Democrats to put these numbers in perspective.‘

Washington Times

December 13, 2018

JudgesPhillip ReevesDecember 13, 2018Washington TimesComment

Emmett ousted as Democrats rout GOP in Harris County races

“The judicial races likewise were a Democratic rout. The party won each of 23 seats on the district judge bench, all 13 on the family court, all four for county civil judge, all 15 county misdemeanor judges and all four county probate judges. The sweep of the misdemeanor bench, which was dominated by Republicans, could have huge ramifications for the future of the federal lawsuit, brought by poor defendants, challenging Harris County’s cash bail system. Each of the 16 jurists are defendants, including some who have pushed the county to continue fighting the case, though it already has cost taxpayers more than $6 million.“

Houston Chronicle

November 7, 2018

JudgesPhillip ReevesNovember 7, 2018Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas, Harris CountyComment

Barrow judge grants new trial in murder case in highly unusual ruling

“Atlanta defense attorney Don Samuel, who has written books on Georgia criminal case law, said Motes’ decision to grant a new trial based on the judge’s own court motion was highly unusual. ‘But it doesn’t strike me as being problematic,” Samuel said. “One of the grounds for granting a new trial can be that the judge was unhappy with the verdict. And the judge does indeed sit as the 13th juror’.“

Atlanta Journal Constitution

October 30, 2018

JudgesPhillip ReevesOctober 30, 2018Atlanta Journal ConstitutionComment

Why we're calling for a judicial sweep in the misdemeanor courts

“We do not make this recommendation lightly. There will be unfortunate consequences that weaken our misdemeanor courts in the short term. Harris County will lose experienced judges. Diversion courts will need new leadership if they are to continue. It’s possible that over the next four years we’ll face different sorts of challenges and scandals in pursuit of a new kind of judiciary. Our star ratings may seem off as we endorse challengers against incumbents with higher scores. But this is about something bigger than individual judges. This is about a criminal justice system in dire need of reform.“

Houston Chronicle

October 16, 2018

JudgesPhillip ReevesOctober 23, 2018Houston ChronicleComment

Judged in the Court of Public Support

“This is the King County Community Court in Redmond, Washington, an alternative and collaborative approach to the justice system. Launched in April, the court takes place every Wednesday afternoon for about two hours. It includes all of the traditional players (judge, prosecutor, defense attorneys), but instead of a trial that focuses on guilt and punishment for those found guilty of low-level offenses, it focuses on problem-solving.“

City Lab

September 21, 2018

JudgesPhillip ReevesSeptember 21, 2018City Lab, Washington, RedmondComment

Who Benefits From Video Court?

“The potential pros of video court include lower transportation costs because inmates do not have to be transferred from jails to courthouses, less staff time involved in those transfers, more security and safety for both the incarcerated and the public, and quicker court proceedings. The potential cons of the practice have more to do with the rights of the incarcerated, including assertions that video court may violate constitutional rights, due process and, in general, dehumanize the accused.“

Illinois Newsroom

September 20, 2018

JudgesPhillip ReevesSeptember 20, 2018Illinois NewsroomComment

Very Broad Laws Offend Due Process

"As vague and ambiguous criminal statutes: they fail to give ordinary people "fair notice" of how the legal system is likely to respond to their conduct. This is a due process problem because it frustrates predictability. When people lack a meaningful sense of what conduct invites serious intrusion into their lives — either because criminal statutes fail to convey what conduct they prohibit, or because they sweep so broadly that no one has a clue what the "actual" prohibition is — the rule-of-law is undermined."

Reason Magazine

August 20, 2018

JudgesAnthony BradleyAugust 25, 2018Reason Magazine, Due Process