Posts tagged The Appeal
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
A No-Holds-Barred Assault on Prosecutors

“While most progressive prosecutors have not been in office long enough to measure their impact on crime (or punishment), it’s worth noting that violent crime fell by over 5 percent in Philadelphia during District Attorney Larry Krasner’s first year on the job, and by 4 percent during Kim Foxx’s first two years in Chicago. None of this is dispositive proof that the policies of progressive prosecutors can lead to reductions in crime, but it pushes back strongly against Barr’s fearmongering.“

The Appeal

August 13, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, William BarrComment
Pennsylvania's Top Cop Says He Supports Criminal Justice Reform. His Record Suggests Otherwise.

“During his campaign, Shapiro espoused progressive ideals like standing up to Wall Street and protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community; he has frequently cast himself as a bulwark against President Trump. But since then, critics say, he has embraced a tough-on-crime image that contrasts sharply with the progressive politics of Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner, the state’s most prominent prosecutor. Shapiro is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, they note, an organization that accused Krasner of having ‘great disdain for law enforcement.’“

The Appeal

August 2, 2019

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State Reforms, ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, PennsylvaniaComment
Pennsylvania Democrats Had a Change to Reject Law Limiting Philly DA's Authority

“On July 2, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law a bill that includes a controversial provision to strip progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner of some prosecuting power over gun cases in the city. The measure, passed in late June by the Republican-led state legislature, gives state Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office the ability to prosecute cases involving the illegal possession and illegal sale of firearms in the city—without first conferring with Krasner.“

The Appeal

July 25, 2019

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ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, Pennsylvania, Larry Krasner, PhiladelphiaComment
Spotlight: A New Wave of Prosecutorial Transparency

“‘Prosecutors’ offices are notorious for their lack of transparency. Across the country, we see them obfuscating information about their policies and practices—even though they are elected officials and some of the most powerful people in the criminal legal system,’ says Nicole Zayas Fortier, advocacy and policy counsel at the ACLU’s Campaign for Smart Justice. Fortier and others call this the prosecutorial black box. But that is starting to change.“

The Appeal

June 7, 2019

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ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe AppealComment
L.A. Prosecutor Touts Her Mental Health Reforms, But Critics Say She's Making the Crisis Worse

“But critics say Lacey herself isn’t the reformer she has claimed to be. Though in January she announced a new division in her office devoted to serving people with mental illness, the unit only has about two staffers, according to Joseph Iniguez, an assistant district attorney in Lacey’s office who is running against her in 2020. And Iniguez said line prosecutors aren’t properly trained on how to handle cases involving people with mental illness in court. “

The Appeal

June 7, 2019

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SentencingPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, Los Angeles, LA, Jackie LaceyComment
New Yorkers from Queens to Rochester Vote for Prosecutor This Year: A First Preview

“New York’s legislature reformed the state’s criminal legal system in March by adopting a slate of changes that criminal justice reformers have long championed. On paper, the 25 district attorney elections scheduled for 2019 offer the opportunity for another big overhaul, including on the very issues—bail, discovery rules, trial speed—that lawmakers just addressed.“

The Appeal

April 18, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, New YorkComment
Texas Plan to Execute a Man for a Murder He Didn't Commit

“Under the law of parties, if people conspire together to commit a felony (in this case, armed robbery), and one person commits an additional felony in furtherance of the first one that could have been anticipated, ‘all conspirators are guilty of the felony actually committed, though having no intent to commit it.’ In other states, a similar doctrine is known as felony murder.“

The Appeal

March 28, 2019

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Death Penalty, SentencingPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, Texas, Felony-murder LawComment
D.A. who ran as reformer says she needs 100 more prosecutors

“The district attorney of Harris County, Texas, formally asked the County Commissioners Court last month for $20 million to hire about 100 new prosecutors, an increase of 31 percent. DA Kim Ogg told the commissioners at the Jan. 29 budget hearing that she needs the new attorneys to handle a backlog of cases that have clogged the courts since Hurricane Harvey. Ogg was hailed as a “bold” criminal justice reformer for campaigning in 2016 on a platform of bail reform and diverting low-level drug offenses. But activists have questioned her actions since her election.“

The Appeal

February 8, 2019

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ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, Kim Ogg, Houston, Harris County, TexasComment
Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins's Office is Still Prosecuting Cases She Pledged to Drop

“But advocates say, so far, that’s not the case. Court Watch MA, a grassroots group that observes arraignments daily across three of the eight Boston Municipal Courts in Suffolk County, says that since Rollins’s Jan. 2 inauguration, its members have seen dozens of cases that seem to contradict her promises.“

The Appeal

February 6, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, Suffolk County, Rachael Rollins, BostonComment
An Alabama prosecutor locked up 4 black teens for a murder they didn't commit. Now he's trying 2 more.

“Robinson said his office does take ‘all factors into consideration’ including youth brain development, when making charging decisions. He added that he has no problem seeking life without parole for juveniles who were accomplices in a felony that resulted in a murder, depending on the facts of the case.“

The Appeal

October 4, 2018

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SentencingPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, AlabamaComment
NYC Prosecutors Are Stoking Fear About the Mass Bailout, but Their Arguments Don't Add Up

“Even if New York’s prosecutors ultimately do not impede the foundation’s efforts, their rhetoric is disappointing. Much of criminal justice reform is about making the general public think more carefully about the needless, preventable, and often counterproductive harms that the system creates, and the prosecutors’ reactive ‘what about public safety?!’ proclamations directly undermine such efforts, and only serve to strengthen the public’s willingness to continue to cage women and teens.“

The Appeal

October 2, 2018

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Pre-trial Intervention, ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, New York City, RikersComment
Queens Prosecutor: Kalief Browder's Suicide Wasn't About Rikers

“Led by an 85-year-old incumbent who has been in power for nearly three decades, the Queens district attorney’s office is one of only two in the city (Staten Island’s is the other) that publicly opposes the slow-moving closure of Rikers. Some advocates have also questioned the plan, which aims to reduce the jail population while increasing the number of jails.“

The Appeal

September 10, 2018

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Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, Queens, New York City, RikersComment
A New Power for Prosecutors is on the Horizon--Reducing Harsh Sentences

“Once a prosecutor makes a recommendation, a judge would still have to impose the new sentence, and the sentence must be allowed by law. But just as prosecutors have enormous power to seek harsh penalties when a defendant is first sentenced, so too could prosecutors demand leniency after someone has already spent many years in prison.“

The Appeal

September 7, 2018

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SentencingPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, CaliforniaComment