“‘I’m the only candidate who has visited a loved one behind bars, that still does that,’ he said in an interview. ‘I’m the only candidate who has ever defended somebody accused of a crime’.“
New York Times
May 24, 2019
Read More“Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot announced policy reforms last month that he said would be “a step forward” in ending mass incarceration in Dallas. His plans include decreasing the use of excessively high bail amounts and no longer prosecuting most first-time marijuana offenses. “
Texas Tribune
May 21, 2019
Read More“I have been involved in the criminal justice system for almost 60 years, initially as a federal prosecutor, but for the greater portion of my career as a criminal defense attorney in both federal and state courts. I am no longer shocked by the frequency of blatant prosecutorial misconduct, but I am sorely troubled that such conduct invariably goes unpunished, even when it’s the basis for reversals of convictions. “
Prison Legal News
May 15, 2019
Read More“Where defense attorneys later took the issue back to the court to protest the bail hike, the amount was dropped by an average of $64,037 for a final bail amount that averaged just over $1 million — a far cry from the original bond. The process is unfair and illegal, says Wainwright, who has been practicing criminal law in New Orleans for 30 years.“
The Intercept
May 15, 2019
Read More“Progressive reformers still obsessing over so-called mass incarceration think that the best way to reduce imprisonment is to curtail the power of prosecutors’ offices. They believe that prosecutors caused the prison buildup and that DAs persist in maximizing incarceration even though crime is down. These critics are mistaken, and their proposals are unnecessary, risky, and misguided. “
National Review
May 15, 2019
Read More“When entering into a plea bargain for a misdemeanor offense, prosecutors have an ethical duty to ensure the legal and evidentiary basis of the charges are sound, according to a new formal ethics opinion from the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. “
American Bar Association
May 9, 2019
Read More“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“The ODAA is leading the charge against SB 1008—as the Mercury reported last week, the association has been circulating a report that includes both questionable claims about Measure 11’s efficacy and sensitive information about individual defendants and victims. Its members are also disseminating the idea that SB 1008 could free every person currently incarcerated for a violent crime they committed as a minor, despite legislators’ insistence that SB 1008 wouldn’t be retroactive. In advancing this theory, ODAA members are using every available platform—from the House Judiciary Committee floor to Lars Larson’s ultra-conservative radio show—to pinpoint specific offenders’ names, and talk up the gruesome details of their crimes.“
Portland Mercury
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“Those positions, however beneficial to the accused, are hardly radical and are espoused by virtually every candidate in the Queens District Attorney race. It therefore behooves those searching for a progressive candidate to try and figure out who might truly be progressive, let alone radical. With that task in mind, here is a modest list of 13 questions that might reveal the depths of a candidate’s progressive beliefs:“
Gotham Gazette
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“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
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“The San Diego County District Attorney has a new tactic aimed at locking in prison terms in plea-bargained cases, by requiring defendants to give up any rights they may have in the future to seek a lower sentence if the Legislature or the courts change the law under which they were sent to prison.“
San Diego Union-Tribune
April 17, 2019
Read More“The critical information we highlight here is the sentencing outcome of a trial if the jury finds the defendant guilty of a crime. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, jurors are not permitted to know what sentence a criminal defendant will face if convicted.”
The Open File
April 11, 2019
Read More“Cruezot released his reform initiatives on Thursday that focus on ending mass incarcerations. Those who know Cruezot well consider him pragmatic, innovative and a problem solver. He's only been in office 100 days, but he says the new initiates are the foundation of what will ensure justice is fairly and evenly dispensed to all Dallas County residents and very likely save taxpayer money along the way. “
Fox 4 Dallas
April 11, 2019
Read More“"The unit will investigate credible claims of innocence to ensure no one is convicted of a crime they didn’t actually commit," the release said. Since innocence projects began popping up in the 1990s, dozens of Michigan prisoners have been exonerated, including a record 14 in 2017, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.“
The Detroit News
April 10, 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
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