Prosecutors — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

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.

Posts in Prosecutors

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

Can Someone Please Tell Us What The Hell Is Going On At The City Prosecutor’s Office?

“Kaneshiro is, to cite the well-worn phrase, innocent until proven guilty. But if he is a suspect in a federal investigation, he needs to take a leave of absence. The fact that we are even raising the possible need for recall or impeachment of a city prosecuting attorney — should Kaneshiro not tell us all what is going on — illustrates just how destructive this storm has become. “

Honolulu Civil Beat

December 11, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesDecember 11, 2018Honolulu Civil Beat, HawaiiComment

Who are “the People” in Criminal Procedure?

“Part of my argument is that the people/defendant dichotomy constructs a limited and exclusionary view of which “public” matters in criminal adjudication. If we think of all members of the public as represented by “the People” and all those who might side with a defendant as “biased,” then we entirely exclude from criminal adjudication those who would disagree with a prosecution or support a defendant.“

Law and Political Economy

November 26, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesNovember 26, 2018Law and Political EconomyComment

Why Your Vote Can Help Kickstart Real Justice Reform

“And so, over the past 50 years, coincident with the erosion of public welfare services, Americans have increasingly relied on the criminal justice system to solve problems that are not, at their heart, criminal. Problems like mental health, substance use, and poverty sometimes lead to criminal conduct.“

The Crime Report

November 6, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesNovember 6, 2018The Crime ReportComment

Report: Right to Trial Exists in Name. In Reality, Only 3% of Cases Go to Trial

“This trend, the report concludes, has bolstered the hands of prosecutors and disempowered both criminal defense attorneys and democracy itself. The report says democracy at large is at stake because citizens, as a result of pretrial plea bargains, have become less involved in the criminal justice system with the accompanying inability to serve on juries.“

Prison Legal News

October 31, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesOctober 31, 2018Prison Legal NewsComment

Larry Krasner’s Campaign to End Mass Incarceration

“Wouldn’t the criminal-justice system be more just, he asked, if the people who traditionally had become public defenders decided to become prosecutors instead? If the students wanted to go into criminal law, they could be prosecutors or public defenders—or, he said, they could be progressive prosecutors.“

The New Yorker

October 23, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesOctober 23, 2018The New Yorker, Larry KrasnerComment

Hatch backs Supreme Court case that would ban both federal and state prosecutions for the same crime

“‘The extensive federalization of criminal law has rendered ineffective the federalist underpinnings of the dual-sovereignty doctrine,’ Hatch’s brief, filed last month, says. ‘And its persistence impairs full realization of the Double Jeopardy Clause’s liberty protections’.“

Salt Lake Tribune

October 12, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesOctober 12, 2018Salt Lake Tribune, Orrin HatchComment

Commentary: 'Progressive' prosecutors need to step away from DAASNY

“Instead, New York's district attorneys have chosen to remain affiliated with a lobbying organization that will do everything in its power to prevent the progress that the public demands. To be taken seriously as ‘progressive prosecutors,’ individual district attorneys must disavow their associations with DAASNY; if they want to, they can create their own organization to support criminal justice reform, rather than continuing to support efforts to stymie it.“

Albany Times Union

October 2, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesOctober 2, 2018Albany Times Union, New YorkComment

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

Pre-trial Intervention, ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesOctober 2, 2018The Appeal, New York City, RikersComment

Alabama's prosecutors could be its biggest reformers

“And while it can be misused, the discretion that district attorneys and prosecutors have gives them the power to immediately address many problematic issues with criminal justice that legislatures continue to struggle to fix.“

Birmingham News

September 29, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 29, 2018Birmingham News, Alabama, John PfaffComment

IN: Former Deputy Prosecutor Trista Hudson Suspended for 18 Months

“A bit of good news on the accountability front emerged late last month out of Indiana. The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission recently handed down an order suspending former Porter County deputy prosecutor Trista Hudson from the state bar following allegations that she withheld key exculpatory evidence in the trial of a man accused of child molestation. The former prosecutor’s suspension is the culmination of a story that has features both all-too-common and all-too-rare.“

The Open File

September 27, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 27, 2018The Open File, IndianaComment

House of Cards

“‘Cold case’ playing cards were just introduced into Delaware prisons in hopes of producing tips on unsolved homicides—but critics warn that informants cultivated behind bars can be dangerously unreliable.“

The Appeal

September 27, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 27, 2018The Appeal, DelawareComment

A Time For Change: Prosecutors race is a referendum on reform

“One—James Erb—radiates an enthusiasm and excitement for change. He is clear that the failure of those previous tax initiatives is what alerted him to the need for change, and what motivated him to seek office. The other—Eric Richey—is more cautious, reticent to declare change is ready and easy to implement. He’s a realist. His desire is to hold a steady and experienced hand on the tiller of an office he has known for 25 years, and has directed as chief deputy criminal prosecutor for six years.“

Cascadia Weekly

September 26, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 26, 2018Cascadia Weekly, Washington, BellinghamComment

Lawyer Accused of Preying on Vulnerable Clients

“The complaint portrays two vulnerable men—“McCollum and Brown have IQs in the 50s,” the bar wrote—who were exploited by a lawyer required to act in their best interest. The complaint lists 16 separate ethical violations. Megaro allegedly lied to federal and state judges, double-billed his clients and misused trust funds. The complaint says he engaged in fraud by signing off on loans at 42 percent interest and shared legal fees with a non-lawyer.“

Marshall Project

September 26, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 26, 2018The Marshall Project, North CarolinaComment

Rachael Rollins And The Power To Decline To Prosecute

“Two weeks ago, Rachael Rollins won the Democratic primary for District Attorney of Suffolk County, an outcome hailed by progressives nationwide. But she hardly had time to enjoy her success before critics emerged, expressing concern about her intention to decline to charge people with a range of petty crimes. WGBH's Morning Editionhost Joe Mathieu spoke with WGBH legal analyst and Northeastern law professor Daniel Medwed about Rollins’ victory, her vision for the job, and this criticism.“

WGBH Boston

September 18, 2018

Prosecutors, Pre-trial InterventionPhillip ReevesSeptember 18, 2018WGBH Boston, Rachael RollinsComment

New Orleans prosecutors engaged in 'unjustifiable delays' in traffic stop case, court finds in dismissing case

“‘To condone prolonged and unjustifiable delays in this case would both penalize defendant for the state’s fault and ‘simply encourage the government to gamble with the interests of criminal suspects assigned a low prosecutorial priority’,’ the judges said, quoting from another court ruling.“

The Advocate

September 14, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 14, 2018New Orleans, LouisianaComment

Elected as a Progressive Reformer, Kim Gardner's First 21 Months Have Featured Chaos and Conflict

“As a result, they say, Gardner's stance could be hard to predict. Many assumed, for example, that a reform-minded prosecutor with an interest in ending mass incarceration would be more receptive than Joyce in re-evaluating cases they considered problematic or short on evidence. Instead, one of their first direct messages from Gardner was a staff-wide email chastising prosecutors for what she saw as a disturbing trend of staffers trying to reduce charges or dismiss cases, according to multiple people who received the email.“

Riverfront Times

September 12, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 12, 2018Riverfront Times, Kim Gardner, St LouisComment

Kathleen Jennings: Attorney General

“Over 90% of the individuals who are incarcerated in Delaware will return to their communities and will be our neighbors once again. I believe we have an obligation to give these individuals the tools necessary to exit the system better people than when they entered. I firmly believe that by providing inmates with job training and career resources while incarcerated, they will be better positioned to find a job that can be a career when they return home“

Dover Post

September 6, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 6, 2018Dover Post, Kathleen Jennings, DelawareComment

In Pennsylvania, Defendants Pay a Fee Just to Plead Guilty

"As is the case with most criminal court fees, Pennsylvania’s plea fee is disproportionately leveled against poor people. In 2015, more than $900,000 in plea fees were imposed in York County, according to a review of all criminal dockets by The Appeal. More than $570,000—or roughly 60 percent—of those fees were charged to people who were represented by a public defender."

The Appeal

August 29, 2018

Prosecutors, SentencingAnthony BradleySeptember 4, 2018The Appeal, Pennsylvania

Multnomah County District Attorneys Walked Out of a Conference Presentation Because of Ferguson Prosecutor’s “Offensive and Unprofessional” Comments

"'Conferences should be about learning and hearing from people who may have a different viewpoint than you. In a future conference, we should hear from a progressive district attorney who also had a controversial case and hear her take on it. If we only hear from the McCulloch side of things that would be a loss for the membership'."

Williamette Week

August 28, 2018

ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesSeptember 3, 2018Williamette Week, Multnomah County, Ferguson