Philadelphia — Judges — 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individual defendant, and minimize the negative impact of minimum sentencing laws without inherently needing those laws repealed.

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

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

Judges

Galsworthy CJR Program

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