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.
"Our communities (including our police officers) are safer when our communities trust and believe in the criminal justice system. And although DAs only report to the voters, they should also hear, listen to, and amplify those behind the wall and without a vote. DAs and the assistant district attorneys they supervise should know and understand what it feels like to be locked in a cell."
Rewire News
August 31, 2018
Read More"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
Read More"'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
Read MoreBoth 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"To discuss coercive interrogation methods, we must first understand the difference between an interrogation and an interview. The primary difference is that an interview is fact-finding, non-accusatory and usually takes place earlier on in an investigation. The interrogation, on the other hand, is accusatory, involves persuasive techniques and is usually conducted in a controlled environment. The most important aspect of any interrogation is that the interviewer should have, through prior investigation, established a presumption of guilt of the suspect."
Prison Legal News
August 19, 2018
Read More"One of Hein’s friends pulled a knife during a fistfight over marijuana. James Farris III died; Jason Holland testified that he committed the stabbings in a backyard clubhouse, but Hein was also sentenced to life in prison under California’s “felony murder” rule that holds accomplices to the same standard as if they had personally committed the crime."
AP
August 17, 2018
Read More"Adam Sibley, the Bosque County district attorney, is the prosecutor in the Bryan case. Sibley was not in this position 30 years ago when Bryan was convicted, but he was the assistant DA in this county since July 2012 and has been the DA since January 2017. Sibley has steadfastly refused to consider the possibility of Bryan’s innocence, opposing DNA testing of crucial evidence. "
Austin American-Statesman
August 14, 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"The U.S. Supreme Court requires prosecutors to inform criminal defendants about an officer’s wrongdoing — but the state’s laws are so strict that prosecutors cannot directly access the personnel files of their own police witnesses. Instead, California puts the burden on defendants to prove to a judge that an officer’s record is relevant."
LA Times
August 9, 2018
Read More"Since 1993, 35 wrongfully convicted Oklahomans have been officially exonerated, according to the National Registry of Exonerations; 15 inmates have been freed in the past decade. Almost half of the state’s exonerees had been convicted of murder; 17 percent for sexual assault."
National Review
August 9, 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"Felony-murder laws allow prosecutors to file murder charges against participants in fatal crimes without having to show that they intended to kill. Unlike such laws in other states, the appeals court said, the California law “takes an abstract approach to evaluating a crime’s dangerousness,” looking at the definition of the crime rather than the facts of the individual case."
San Francisco Chronicle
August 6, 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"The fight for reform manifested in Nevada in this year’s Democratic primary for district attorney in Clark County, where incumbent Steve Wolfson beat attorney Robert Langford. Though voters rallied behind Langford in the hope he would overhaul parts of the local justice system such as bail reform, the election was never solely about the candidates."
The Nevada Current
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
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