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.
"Public defenders have long argued that the earlier prosecutors show evidence to the defense, including evidence about the credibility of police officers and witnesses, the easier it is to weed out bad cases and prevent wrongful prosecutions. Strong cases persuade defendants to plead guilty, while weak ones fall apart before the accused has spent a long time in jail, they contend."
New York Times
July 8, 2018
Read More"First, there were so many people in Dothan who would revel in his downfall. In a place known for the excesses of its criminal justice system, Mr. Glasgow has been the critic in chief of the police, prosecutors and jailers. And then there is the fact that he did not actually kill anyone."
New York Times
July 7, 2018
Read More"Johnson is the prosecutor who cake-walked a couple of trigger-happy cops through the justice system after the thoroughly outrageous 2010 shooting of Caroline Small, the mother of two who was unarmed and trapped in her car after a slow-speed chase."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July 5, 2018
Read More"Did a Louisiana police chief and a prosecutor cross a line when they issued televised threats to a man who'd just been granted relief by a federal appeals court in a child killing?"
The Appeal
July 3, 2018
Read More"Last month, a bipartisan piece of legislation passed both the Republican-controlled New York State Senate and the Democrat-controlled Assembly. It would create a Commission on Prosecutor Conduct, with investigatory and subpoena power to respond to complaints made by everyday people who have grievances regarding their local district attorneys and their assistant prosecutors."
New York Daily News
July 2, 2018
Read More"Why Calcasieu? The parish is a four-hour drive from Caddo, all the way in the far south part of the state, so it’s not for convenience’s sake. Perhaps it’s because DeRosier’s office still reflects an antiquated outlook, where being tough on crime and winning to win is the driving ethos."
The Appeal
June 29, 2018
Read More"When Datesman was convicted in 1983, Pennsylvania governors were still commuting dozens of life sentences. But in subsequent decades, the process all but ground to a halt in part as a reaction to the violent crime spree of Reginald McFadden, a commuted juvenile lifer, in 1994."
Philadelphia Inquirer
June 28, 2018
Read More"“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
Read More"The debate, held at the Suffolk County House of Correction, was organized by the American Civil Liberties Union and the local sheriff’s department. It was billed as the first political debate in the country to take place inside a jail."
New York Times
June 26, 2018
Read More"Most DA offices, however, just pocket the money and run, according to the enter. They “do not screen tickets, counsel motorists or provide any rehabilitative programming,” according to the complaint. They do, however, charge enough to realize a handsome profit, which provides a significant subsidy for their other operations. In some cases, traffic ticket diversion fees account for half the DA's overall budget. Some district attorneys make sure the money keeps rolling in by hiring off-duty cops just to pull drivers over."
The Advocate
June 23, 2018
Read More"While it is not unusual for judges to ask parties to submit proposed findings before they make a ruling, it should be unusual for them to simply adopt one party’s document without reading it, without editing it, without considering it. The fact-finding process is meant to be adversarial, even more so in high-stakes capital cases. When courts just adopt the State’s documents verbatim, due process is rendered meaningless; judges have ceded whatever authority they have, handing it over to the State."
Prosecutorial Accountability Project
June 19, 2018
Read More"Prosecutorial misconduct often takes years — and a fair amount of luck — to unearth....Since that’s the case, it hardly seems fair to use only cases in which a court has granted relief as a measure of the extent of misconduct."
The Intercept
June 15, 2018
Read More"Defendants in these kinds of cases, often from New York City’s poorest neighborhoods, can’t afford to hire attorneys. The conspiracy charges they face...are broad and hard to fight, because proving individuals “conspired” with others accused of crimes is easier for prosecutors than proving they committed that crime. Threatened with draconian sentences, almost all defendants in these situations agree to plea deals — usually getting years rather decades in prison, and scoring prosecutors dozens of easy convictions."
The Intercept
June 7, 2018
Read More"The power and discretion of prosecutors cannot be overstated. They essentially control the criminal justice system through their charging and plea bargaining decisions."
The Appeal
May 29, 2018
Read More"The complaint alleged that Zahnd had committed multiple ethical violations when he sought to pressure community members to withdraw letters they had written in support of a convicted child molester prior to his sentencing in October 2015. The OCDC recommended harsher punishment, namely a three-month suspension of Zahnd’s law license. Although the disciplinary panel opted to recommend the more lenient punishment, the Supreme Court’s adoption of its recommendation represents a rare rebuke of a sitting prosecuting attorney."
KCUR Missouri
May 22, 2018
Read More"Robert McCoy was charged with the murder of three of his family members in Bossier City, Louisiana. The state brought capital charges against him, but McCoy maintained his innocence......But in light of the evidence against him, McCoy’s lawyer thought the best trial strategy would be to admit guilt...McCoy adamantly opposed this plan, but his lawyer pursued it anyway and told the jury that McCoy was guilty. The jury returned three murder convictions and sentenced McCoy to death. Today, the Supreme Court held that it violated the Sixth Amendment for McCoy’s lawyer to admit his guilt over his express objection, and it ordered the state of Louisiana to grant McCoy a new trial."
Cato Institute
May 14, 2018
Read More"The push to require Louisiana juries to return unanimous verdicts has resulted in some unusual alliances in Baton Rouge, with Tea Party Republicans lining up alongside members of the Legislative Black Caucus to demand change."
The Advocate
May 12, 2018
Read More"Oregon for 84 years has shared a constitutional quirk with Louisiana that allows criminal trials to be decided by non-unanimous juries. In every other state — and the federal court system — juries must reach unanimous verdicts in felony cases, whether convicting a serial arsonist or acquitting a low-level drug dealer...That is not the case here, to the shock and chagrin of many locals."
The Advocate
May 12, 2018
Read More"In courtrooms across America, prosecutors regularly withhold evidence from the defense that could blow holes in their cases. That’s a violation of the Brady doctrine, based on a 1963 Supreme Court ruling that requires them to disclose any information favorable to the defense."
The Appeal
April 25, 2018
Read More"Not only will the death penalty not deter drug traffickers, it could have unintended consequences as more innocent people are coerced into smuggling drugs."
Cato Institute
March 28, 2018
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