Both candidates would take the lead on criminal justice reform in Suffolk and Middlesex counties.
Boston Globe
August 28, 2018
Read More"'Misconduct is obviously awful and needs to be stopped,' Pfaff said. 'But my general sense about what drives mass incarceration is less misconduct and more about prosecutors making decisions that are publically legal, but unnecessary'."
The Appeal
August 28, 2018
Read More"Pleading guilty and implicating a co-defendant can be the only practical choice when your lawyer lacks the time and resources to mount an effective defense. In fact, flipping on your cohorts can be the only way to avoid the de facto punishment of pretrial detention."
Washington Post
August 24, 2018
Read More"The purpose of the commission, which is modeled on New York’s successful judicial conduct commission, is not simply to punish cheating prosecutors, but to change the win-at-all-costs mentality that infects too many prosecutor’s offices. "
New York Times
August 14, 2018
Read More"She said it’s never appropriate for a DA to ask for $15,000 bond for charges like marijuana possession, and pointed to research showing that releasing people based on their promise to pay if they don’t turn up in court is just as effective as requiring money bail up front."
The Appeal
August 9, 2018
Read More"Tricia Bushnell, an attorney with the Midwest Innocence Project and one of McIntyre’s attorneys, said it is important to see prosecutors come together and recognize their obligation in seeking justice. Just looking at 2017, she said, the vast majority of overturned convictions deal with police and prosecutorial misconduct. Prosecutors are saying that they want to prevent those types of mistakes in the future, Bushnell said."
Injustice Watch
August 8, 2018
Read More"As council member from central Queens since 2014, Lancman has been a leading supporter of many criminal justice reform issues, including closing Rikers, ending marijuana arrests, and scaling down penalties for low-level crimes. Despite his position on Rikers, the city’s corrections union has continued to support Lancman, giving him the maximum allowed donation in his 2013 and 2017 campaigns."
The Appeal
August 7, 2018
Read More"Ninety-five percent of elected prosecutors are white, and 79 percent are male. Only 1 percent of prosecutors are women of color. The majority of prosecutors — 85 percent — run for election unopposed. They are rarely punished for misconduct, and a 1976 Supreme Court ruling gives them absolute immunity from civil suits. "
Huffington Post
August 7, 2018
Read More"In Elkhart, Indiana, even easy records can be hard to get. Trial exhibits? No. Appellate briefs? No. Police reports in the court file? No. And don’t even ask about moving those boxes."
ProPublica
August 3, 2018
Read More"According to the documents, prosecutors are being taught courtroom techniques with the explicit goal of stretching out cases, thereby undermining defendants’ rights to a speedy trial. The right to a speedy trial is enshrined in the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment, but how it’s enforced at the state level is largely left to courts and state law."
The Appeal
August 2, 2018
Read More"Since then, legislation sponsored by Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse) passed both the Senate and Assembly with bipartisan support. It would create the nation’s first Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct. Mirroring New York’s Commission on Judicial Conduct, which handles complaints against judges, it would have the power to investigate citizens’ allegations of prosecutor malfeasance and recommend sanctions."
New York Daily News
July 30, 2018
Read More"Krasner, who took office in January, styles himself a progressive, but his objectives dovetail closely with those of conservative and libertarian justice reformers. All share a broader vision of radically reshaping a criminal justice system that is deeply unjust and out of line with American constitutional and moral values."
The American Conservative
July 30, 2018
Read More"There is a sensible alternative that would help alleviate all of the landmines that litter this playing field: judicial supervision of any communications between trial lawyers and prosecutors in post-conviction. It is not only in the client’s interest, the post-conviction lawyer’s interest (by ensuring that the trial lawyer does not over-disclose), and the trial lawyer’s interest (by ensuring again that she does not break the rules), but also the prosecutor’s interest because the rules implicate every lawyer involved."
The Open File
July 25, 2018
Read More"One major hurdle in these delayed-disclosure cases is that courts put the burden on the defense to prove that the delay prejudiced them. It then discounts any argument made on the basis that it is speculative. Why should the defense bear the burden when the Government has either intentionally gamed the system or unintentionally failed to meet its obligations?"
The Open File
July 18, 2018
Read More"The probe could call into question hundreds of criminal convictions that involved either Wang’s investigative work or testimony. In 2013, Wang was accused of misconduct including accepting bribes from drug dealers, outing a police informant and alerting a gang member to sensitive police information."
East Bay Times
July 13, 2018
Read More"Material witness warrants are meant to be used to arrest and detain people in unusual cases where prosecutors can prove that their testimony is essential to a case and that there’s reason to think the witness will not appear in court. The practice has recently come under fire in many places for enabling the detention of innocent people."
The Appeal
July 13, 2018
Read More"The state bill passed with bipartisan support in both the Assembly and the Senate, and awaits Cuomo’s signature or veto. The commission, consisting of eleven judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys appointed by the state’s chief judge, the governor, and legislative leaders, would be empowered to investigate and recommend disciplinary action against prosecutors in the state accused of misconduct."
Gotham Gazette
July 12, 2018
Read More"Whether Mueller is overstepping his authority is a matter of opinion. But this conservative indignance rings hollow. For over three decades, conservatives—and many liberals—have encouraged the expansion of prosecutorial power. They’ve sat idly by as the prison population exploded."
The Appeal
July 11, 2018
Read More"People looking at the growth of mass incarceration are increasingly focusing on the key role that prosecutors play, and in just six months Krasner has already radically changed that role. Chris Hayes got a chance to talk to Larry Krasner about 'storming the palace doors':"
NBC
July 10, 2018
Read More"Fast forward 22 months, and the murder cases against two of the three suspects originally charged have collapsed, with a forensic psychiatrist saying the interrogation of Victoria’s mother, on which the cases were based, was conducted improperly and yielded false admissions and contaminated statements. Indeed, District Attorney Raúl Torrez now says that much of what the public was told about the case is just plain wrong."
The Albuquerque Journal
July 8, 2018
Read More