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.
“As long as a progressive is at the helm, having a strong District’s Attorney’s Office can be a positive. But power also can be taken away. If a tough-on-crime prosecutor manages to claim power, a slashed budget from Krasner would land that person in a DA’s Office that we can drown in the bathtub.“
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 29, 2019
Read More“Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner testified before City Council on Wednesday as part of the city’s annual budget hearings. In addition to asking for funding for the next fiscal year, Krasner’s testimony served as a venue for him to share what he described as some early returns from his first year in office, including efforts to reduce reliance on incarceration and supervision, diversify his staff, and change the makeup of certain units in the office. Here are five highlights.“
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 24, 2019
Read More“District attorney’s offices use these lists to alert their prosecutors to potential problems with police witnesses. Sometimes, they’ll turn over information on individual officers to the defense, based on the defendant’s right to know. Our findings prompted defense attorneys and civil-liberties advocates to call on city prosecutors to unveil the databases. Their release would allow for a review of past convictions based on testimony by potentially tainted officers.“
The Gothamist
April 22, 2019
Read More“Emily Bazelon’s new book about the American judicial system reads like two books. Both are crucial to understanding the wretchedness of the American criminal legal process, and both offer something missing from most other books about mass incarceration: hope.“
Washington Post
April 19, 2019
Read More“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 Political Report
April 18, 2019
Read More“In the 18 months since he was elected the borough’s chief law enforcement officer, Gonzalez has rarely spoken of that personal tragedy from almost a quarter of a century ago. But he cited the experience as one that has helped shape his thinking as he has wrestled with how his office, the state’s second largest, should handle those it convicts of serious crimes after they go to prison. Prosecutors around the country almost always turn thumbs down on parole requests. But at his office, Gonzalez plans to change that.“
The Marshall Project
April 17, 2019
Read More“Journalist and Yale Law lecturer Emily Bazelon attributes America's high incarceration rates to prosecutors more than judges. She says that in the 1980s, when crime was on the rise, legislators across the country passed laws with mandatory minimum sentences that have disproportionately affected black and brown communities.“
NPR
April 10, 2019
Read More“In an editorial meeting with the Tribune last week, Krasner cited a Columbia University study that found the longer someone is under supervision the higher their risk of getting sent back to prison for a probation violation or losing a job because an employer becomes impatient when an employee has to leave for regular appointments with a parole or probation officer.“
Philadelphia Tribune
March 29, 2019
Read More“Earlier this year, Rachael Rollins took office as Suffolk County DA. Many on the left praised her as a progressive reformer, while many on the right portrayed her as a rookie who is soft on crime. Morning Edition Host Joe Mathieu spoke with WGBH’s legal analyst Daniel Medwed to talk about Rollins’ progress just a few months into her tenure. “
WGBH Boston
March 19, 2019
Read More“Rejecting Cannizzaro’s attempt to dismiss the case, U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo wrote that the district attorney’s subpoena practices, as alleged, amount to ‘systemic fraud’ and ‘shock the conscience.’ According to the judge, his request for immunity would ‘grant prosecutors a license to bypass the most basic checks on their authority.’ We agree.“
New Orleans Times Picayune
March 19, 2019
Read More“The use of bogus documents to alter the course of justice is clearly a bigger threat to the civilized order than many a crime that occupies the attention of Cannizzaro's enforcers. And this was no aberration, because they had been playing this trick for many years. Malice does not come much more forethought than this.“
The Advocate
March 13, 2019
Read More“It also may not be healthy that certain corporations have taken to hiring former prosecutors to help them avert unfair prosecutions. These former prosecutors appear to be preaching voluntary disclosure – urging companies to be as upfront and transparent as possible. The fewer corporate activities seen as furtive, the greater the likelihood that prosecutors will look elsewhere. Transparency always carries a degree of risk; but the risk associated with opacity is, in this instance, far greater.“
Forbes
March 8, 2019
Read More“This is the fourth consecutive election where Evans is unopposed. This is a common pattern in Mississippi. In addition to the 16 incumbent DAs against whom no one filed to run against this year, there is a seventh candidate who isn’t even an incumbent and yet is now sure to win: Assistant District Attorney Daniella Shorter is the only candidate running to replace the retiring Alexander Martin in the 22nd District. It is also a common pattern nationwide. The majority of Wisconsin counties haven’t held a single contested DA election this decade, for instance.“
The Appeal: Political Report
March 7, 2019
Read More“New York laws on pretrial process are among the most retrograde in the nation. Prosecutors can withhold evidence until the morning of trial. To keep it that way, the district attorneys’ association has made the fear-mongering claim that early disclosure of evidence would enable defendants to intimidate witnesses and victims.“
New York Times
February 28, 2019
Read More“With such widespread support, it’s disheartening that Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor, Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, hasn’t embraced some criminal justice reforms.Take the incarceration rate of Los Angeles County. We have about 618 people in prison per 100,000 residents, which is significantly higher than California’s overall rate of 496 per 100,000 residents and more than four times higher than San Francisco’s rate. Black residents are incarcerated at four times the rate of white residents.“
Los Angeles Times
February 27, 2019
Read More“Klobuchar, who’s currently a US senator from Minnesota, was previously a prosecutor for Hennepin County, Minnesota, which is home to Minneapolis and more than 1 million people. In her time as prosecutor from 1999 to 2007, she embraced “tough on crime” policies — pursuing harsher prison sentences against nonviolent offenders, such as graffiti taggers and drug dealers, and calling for changes to the law that would allow even longer prison sentences, particularly against repeat offenders.“
Vox
February 25, 2019
Read More“Katherine Kealoha has been indicted by the Justice Department on more than fifty charges ranging from drug dealing to public corruption stemming from her time as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Kaneshiro’s office. Among the most egregious allegations, Kealoha is said to have worked with her husband – the former Police Chief of Honolulu – to falsify charges against a relative with whom she was having a financial dispute, and to thwart the prosecution of her brother – a local doctor – for illegally prescribing opioids for profit. The indictments have come in waves over the past two years, and Kealoha is now facing three separate trials. The latest indictment is the first to implicate Kaneshiro, though it has been known for some weeks that the FBI recently sent him a “target letter” – that is, a letter notifying him that he was under investigation.“
The Open File
February 21, 2019
Read More“Some of the nation's most ambitious changes to criminal justice are happening in Philadelphia. That's where Larry Krasner is finishing his first year as district attorney. He's fighting mass incarceration and pushing to charge fewer people with crimes, but Krasner's efforts are getting resistance from police officers, victim advocates and the system itself. Bobby Allyn of member station WHYY has more.“
NPR Illinois
February 20, 2019
Read More“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
Read More“But in practice they do not decide alone. In the enormous world of misdemeanor processing, the police quietly wield a lot of prosecutorial authority. So for voters seeking change, switching prosecutors is only a partial solution.“
New York Times
December 26, 2018
Read More