Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg Didn't Deliver on Her Promise of Reform. Now Another One of Her Former Prosecutors is Running Against Her.

“Kim Ogg was elected district attorney of Harris County, Texas, in 2016 on a criminal justice reform platform, but has spent her first term largely pushing the status quo. She has repeatedly asked the County Commissioners Court, which makes budget decisions for the country’s third largest county, for dozens more prosecutors, requests that have thus far been denied. She also stood against a historic misdemeanor bail reform settlement that came as a result of a new wave of judges being swept in during the 2018 election in Harris County, which includes Houston. Those moves have largely been at odds with Ogg’s stated vision for reform. In March, a former assistant district attorney under Ogg, Audia Jones, entered the 2020 race against her. And now, Carvana Cloud, the former Special Victims Bureau chief under Ogg, has left the office to enter the race.“

The Appeal

December 5, 2019

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ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, Kim Ogg, Harris CountyComment
Re-Envisioning the Roles of Prosecutors and Attorneys General to Make the Justice System Work for Everyone

“Along with criminal justice reform, a progressive law enforcement office would use its powers to fight abuses in which the powerful prey on people from working-class or marginalized communities. This would include taking on abusive landlords, predatory lenders, corrupt elected officials, hate crime perpetrators, and corporate and government leaders whose decisions have devastating consequences for ordinary people, such as poisoned water. And it would involve doing so in collaboration with affected communities and grassroots organizations.“

Stanford Social Innovation Review

December 1, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesStanford Social Innovation ReviewComment
Dethroning the ‘Kings of the Courtroom’: How to Turn Prosecutors into Reformers

“Still, he added, the prosecutor-led reform movement also carries with it some dangers. There’s a contradiction between trying to curb prosecutorial powers and using a prosecutor’s clout in the system to make changes in the administration of justice that critics could justifiably call political overreach or an abuse of the political process, Bellin noted. Instead, he argued, prosecutors should use their influence to reduce the “severity” of modern U.S. justice.“

The Crime Report

November 29, 2019

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State Reforms, ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Crime ReportComment
Larry Krasner vs. Everybody: Inside the Philly DA’s Crusade to Revolutionize Criminal Justice

“As a career defense attorney who’d never prosecuted a case in his life, Larry Krasner did promise a radical reworking of the DA’s office — an end to what he called the “crisis of mass incarceration.” He won, improbably, in part because of major campaign spending by liberal billionaire George Soros. Now, nearly two years into his first term, he’s shown he can deliver on what he promised, diverting nonviolent offenders from prison and eliminating cash bail for some charges.* But the victories have come with controversy — including, most spectacularly, some dramatic skirmishes with his fellow top law enforcement officers.“

Philadelphia Magazine

November 23, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesPhiladelphia Magazine, Philadelphia, Larry KrasnerComment
After False Drug Test, He Was in Solitary Confinement for 120 Days

“Mr. Kearney is one of hundreds of New York State prisoners who say they were punished after tests falsely determined they had used drugs, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed on Wednesday. Many of the inmates spent months in solitary confinement or locked in cells. Others were denied release on parole, removed from programs, or held beyond their scheduled release dates after testing positive for narcotics, according to the complaint filed in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.“

New York Times

November 20, 2019

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False ConvictionsPhillip ReevesNew York TimesComment
Newsletter: What does it mean to be a progressive prosecutor?

““Progressive prosecutor” has clearly become a buzzword as of late, but what exactly does it mean to be one? Progressive prosecutors tend to sound “more like liberal activists and civil rights lawyers than traditional hard-nosed DAs,” and are seeking to transform criminal justice systems, as my colleague Del Quentin Wilber put it a few months ago.“

LA Times

November 12, 2019

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State Reforms, ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesLA Times, Chesa Boudin, San FranciscoComment
Taking a second look at life imprisonment

“Criminologists know that individuals “age out” of crime. Any parent of a teenager understands that misbehavior, often serious, is all too common at this stage. FBI arrest data show that the rate of arrest for teenage boys rises sharply from the mid-teen years through the early 20s but then declines significantly. Arrests for robbery, for example, peak at age 19 but decline by more than half by age 30 and by three-quarters by age 40. The same is true for other violent crimes. The reason is clear. As teenage boys enter their 20s, they lose their impulsivity, get jobs, find life partners, form families, and generally take on adult roles. Violent behavior becomes less attractive.“

Boston Globe

November 7, 2019

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SentencingPhillip ReevesBoston GlobeComment
DAs trained how to keep people in jail despite new bail law

“Jed Painter, an assistant district attorney from Nassau County, has been giving presentations on New York’s new state laws that limit bail, expand discovery in criminal cases and encourage speedy trials to audiences of lawyers and legislators across the state. But critics say Painter’s presentation helps prosecutors find legal loopholes to hold more defendants on bail and to delay trials.“

City & State New York

October 28, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesCity and State New York, Nassau County, New York, Jed PainterComment
A Texas Prosecutor Fights for Reform

“The position of the district attorney in American politics has changed rapidly in the past few years, as progressive DAs have swept offices across the country with plans to reform the criminal-justice system from within. While most of the prominent DAs are in Democratic states, Creuzot, a former judge who has been registered as both a Democrat and a Republican, has emerged as one of the highest-profile DAs trying to enact progressive policies in a red state.“

The Atlantic

October 24, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesThe Atlantic, John Creuzot, TexasComment
The Kim Foxx Effect: How Prosecutions Have Changed in Cook County

“Our analysis of this data provides the first detailed look at the more than 35,000 cases that flow through Foxx’s office every year. We found that since she took office she turned away more than 5,000 cases that would have been pursued by previous State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, mostly by declining to prosecute low-level shoplifting and drug offenses and by diverting more cases to alternative treatment programs. Foxx has not finished her term, so these trends could yet change.“

The Marshall Project

October 24, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesThe Marshall Project, Kim Foxx, Chicago, The Pudding, Chicago ReporterComment
Editorial: America’s next most important election? The L.A. district attorney race

“The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is the nation’s largest local prosecutorial agency by far. Its caseload, together with L.A.’s position as a capital of innovation and a breeding ground for political movements, put the L.A. D.A.’s office in a position to influence justice policy not just here but throughout California and, arguably, around the nation. Practices established in L.A. may well set the course for dealing with homelessness, mental health care, policing and public safety everywhere. So there is a strong case to be made that aside from the presidential race, the most important item before voters in 2020 will be the race for L.A. County D.A.“

Los Angeles Times

October 21, 2019

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Prosecutors, State ReformsPhillip ReevesLos Angeles, LA Times, Jackie Lacey, George GasconComment
Hundreds of police officers have been labeled liars. Some still help send people to prison.

“In a case that came down to one man’s word against another’s, jurors believed the police officer. Because of his prior offenses, Vara was sentenced to 25 years in prison. What happened to Vara has been unconstitutional for more than 50 years.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1963 that prosecutors must tell anyone accused of a crime about all evidence that might help their defense at trial. That includes sharing details about police officers who have committed crimes, lied on the job or whose honesty has been called into doubt.“

USA Today

October 17, 2019

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False Convictions, SentencingPhillip ReevesUSA Today, Brady ViolationsComment
North Philly man cleared of murder after 27 years in prison, the 10th exoneration under DA Larry Krasner

“Sworn in on a promise to transform the District Attorney’s Office, Krasner last year expanded his Conviction Integrity Unit and broadened its ambitions. He also appointed Patricia Cummings, formerly based in Texas, to lead the unit that examines inmates’ claims of wrongful convictions. Cummings said that in 22 months, the unit has reviewed requests involving about 200 cases, most of which prosecutors have left intact. Still, Krasner said that 10 exonerations means that investigators determined 5% of those cases were marred by fundamental errors.“

Philadelphia Inquirer

October 9, 2019

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False ConvictionsPhillip ReevesPhiladelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Larry Krasner, Conviction Integrity UnitsComment
Federal Judge Rebukes Houston DA for Using the Willie Horton Strategy

“U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal gave preliminary approval last week to a settlement that restructures the bail system and provides for the pretrial release of most people charged with misdemeanors in Texas’s Harris County, the nation’s third most populous county and home of Houston. And she did it over the objections of Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.“

The Appeal Political Report

September 12, 2019

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Prosecutors, Bail ReformPhillip ReevesThe Appeal Political Report, Houston, Harris County, Kim OggComment
Prosecutors Need to Take the Lead in Reforming Prisons

“Everyone who takes the oath of a prosecutor’s office in this country should come to work feeling the moral weight of our unacceptable prison conditions. District attorneys can profoundly transform the criminal-justice system if they recognize their own role in perpetuating the harms of prison and commit to fixing American prisons. Prosecutors should proactively employ their considerable power to investigate and prosecute abuse, other criminal conduct, and civil-rights violations behind bars, and use their bully pulpits to speak out loudly in favor of a drastically different prison model.“

The Atlantic

August 27, 2019

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Prosecutors, State ReformsPhillip ReevesThe AtlanticComment
Prosecutor Sends Staff to Prison, in a Bid to Counter Their Reflex to Incarcerate

“Her comments flip the typical way opponents of criminal justice reform react to cases of recidivism to argue that people were not treated harshly enough. Instead she suggested that some instances of recidivism should force prosecutors to confront the failures of incarceration. “That hasn’t worked, that person is back. Maybe we need to find another way to address this particular person,” she said.“

The Appeal Political Report

August 14, 2019

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ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal Political Report, Sarah Fair George, VermontComment