Rural Crime — Prosecutors — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Prosecutors

Currently, prosecutors in both the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems have too much discretion in pressing charges, determining what sentences are sought, and negotiating plea deals. Trial by jury is a key tenant of the American criminal justice system, but heightened prosecutorial power significantly reduces the power and frequency of a trial by peers. Attempts at sentencing reform must address largely unchecked prosecutorial discretion.

When the Police Become Prosecutors

“Consider South Carolina, where most of the 400 magistrate and municipal courts had no prosecuting attorneys, according to a 2017 study by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The police prosecuted their own misdemeanor arrests, while 90 percent of defendants had no lawyers and so faced the arresting officer-prosecutor on their own. South Carolina also does not require its lower-court judges to be lawyers, so thousands of convictions occur without input from a single attorney.“

New York Times

December 26, 2018

Prosecutors, Rural CrimePhillip ReevesDecember 26, 2018New York TimesComment

Why is mass incarceration moving to the suburbs?

"“District attorneys in rural and suburban areas tend to be much more punitively oriented, … with harsh, tough-on-crime rhetoric, and a lot of that follows from the attitude of the people that live in those areas,” Bucklen said. “They’re responding to the people that elected them.”"

Philadelphia Inquirer

June 26, 2018

Rural Crime, Prosecutors, Mass IncarcerationAnthony BradleyJuly 29, 2018Philadelphia Inquirer, Rural Crime

Prosecutors

Galsworthy CJR Program

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