IIP OPINIONS
SPOTLIGHT
OPINION
Criminal Justice Reform Didn't Die on Nov. 5 | Opinion
November 19, 2024 | Rachel Marshall | Newsweek
“Whether or not they identify as "progressive," more prosecutors nationally are pushing for a more effective and more just legal system, whether through adopting diversion programs, utilizing alternatives to incarceration, promoting police accountability, or improving support for victims of crime.”
Strategies for Protecting Prosecutorial Discretion
Preeti Chauhan, Rachel Marshall, and Dalia Racine | January 17, 2024 | Local Solutions Support Center
”States like Florida, Georgia, and Texas have launched aggressive efforts to reduce the authority of reform-minded prosecutors. This state interference, sometimes called ‘prosecutorial preemption,’ undermines the discretion of locally elected prosecutors who advocate for evidence-based practices over traditional knee-jerk, tough-on-crime policies. These reform initiatives enhance public safety and reduce harm in communities. Yet, they face considerable opposition from state legislatures and governors aiming to restrict the autonomy of local officials.”
Attacks on Prosecutors Put Politics Over Safety
Rachel Marshall⎮May 2, 2023 | New York Law Journal
“Critics of reform have spent years dishonestly claiming that reform prosecutors refuse to prosecute crimes, and they are all too happy to invert that argument when they don’t like who is being charged. The inconsistency of the anti-reform argument reveals the truth: attacks on reform prosecutors have nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with politics.”
Reform-Minded Prosecutors Should Go From the Courtroom to the Capitol If They Want to See Change
Chantelle Williams⎮June 10, 2022
Long-term criminal justice reform will be achieved when prosecutors use legislative advocacy to tackle the underlying issues that lead people to the criminal justice system in the first place.
Restorative Justice Programs Can Work In Small Communities
Deborah Gonzalez, Jonathan Sahrbeck & Chantelle Williams⎮May 20, 2022
”During a videoconference in November 2021 with the St. Louis police officer who shot her in 2019, Ashley Hall told the officer she forgave her. It was a powerful moment between a crime victim and an accused person, and one that rarely occurs in the traditional criminal justice system.”
How Prosecutors Can End Cycle Of Intimate Partner Violence
David Sullivan & Alissa Marque Heydari ⎮April 8, 2022
“It happens over and over again: a cycle of violence that prosecutors feel all but helpless to stop.
The survivor — often, but not always, a woman — calls 911 to report that her significant other has harmed her. The police respond, arrest the alleged abuser, and forward the case to the prosecutor's office.”
Justice Reforms Are Not To Blame For Waukesha Tragedy
Alissa Marque Heydari⎮December 19, 2021
“What happened in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last month was horrific. A man plowed his SUV through a Christmas parade, killing six people and injuring dozens of others. Among the dead, an 8-year-old boy.
As a parent of a young child, I cannot imagine the suffering of the victims and their families, and I hope for a swift recovery for those who survived.”
Why Prosecutor ‘Do Not Call’ Lists Help Curb Police Misconduct
Alissa Marque Heydari⎮November 23, 2021
“Recently, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney took a giant leap forward to strengthen trust in the legal system and trust in police. They released their offices’ “Do Not Call” lists, which contain information about police officers whom prosecutors will no longer call to testify because they believe the officers are not credible witnesses.”
It’s Time To Change How We Prosecute Drug Crimes
Sherry Boston & Alissa Marque Heydari | November 20, 2021
“Every year, there are over 1.5 million drug-related arrests in the United States. And yet, during a 12-month period ending in April, over 100,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses - nearly 30 percent more fatal overdoses than just a year earlier.”
Police Misconduct Needs To Be Tracked By Prosecutors And Acted On
John Choi, Alissa Marque Heydari & Raúl Torrez⎮October 26, 2021
“In Houston, a police officer with 35 substantiated misconduct complaints was the lead witness in a driving-while-intoxicated case that led to a 25-year sentence. That defendant was later exonerated.”
The Ahmaud Arbery Case: Lessons To Prevent Prosecutor Conflicts
Alissa Marque Heydari & Ronald Wright⎮September 22, 2021
”The killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Ga., last year sparked conversations nationwide about the prevalence of racism in law enforcement and the dangers of citizen’s arrest laws. But the recent indictment of Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, who initially handled the Arbery case, brought to the forefront an equally problematic aspect of our criminal system—conflicts of interest for prosecutors.”
Going Beyond Big Cities To Reimagine Prosecution
David O. Leavitt & Alissa Marque Heydari⎮July 30, 2021
“For smaller communities, the challenges can be even greater as they deal with reduced resources and, in some places, fierce pushback to new initiatives. But to create sustained, national change, every prosecutor needs to reimagine their role and policies, whether they serve 500 or 5 million people.”
Why Culture Change For Prosecutors Is ‘More Than Hiring People Of Color’
March 11, 2021
“Without cultivating office buy-in and an understanding of the reasoning behind new policies, chief prosecutors cannot change the trajectory of our criminal legal system. In other words, while diversity in hiring is part of the solution, it is just one step in a long and challenging process to create a culture of racial equity within prosecutors’ offices.”
Prioritize Prosecutor Well-Being
Rena Paul & Michelle Mason⎮March 24, 2021
“Prosecutorial well-being empowers prosecutors to best serve the community by first supporting themselves. Paying attention to a prosecutor’s mental health can encourage a more balanced standard of care within the entire justice system.”
On The Need For Health Justice In The Prison System
Shawanna Vaughn & Michelle Mason | August 9, 2020
“As we continue to reveal more about our country’s racial injustice and the abuse Black Americans endure at the hands of law enforcement, the current pandemic has shed some light on the healthcare and human rights crisis that lives behind barbed-wire fences and concrete walls.
Prosecutors' Vital Role In Reforming Criminal Justice
Lucy Lang⎮August 7, 2020
“Prosecutors have played a historic role in exacerbating these racial disparities, and they have an equally vital role to play in the systemic reforms that are needed to turn an unfair system around. To ensure that reforms are set up to succeed, it is incumbent on modern prosecutors to collect as much relevant data as they can and analyze it to measure disparities and evaluate policies that seek to create a more-just system. “
The Smart Way To Stop Shootings
Lucy Lang & Tyler Nims⎮July 28, 2020
“Instead of harsher policing and more incarceration, the right responses should be based on what we now know about gun violence. Experts increasingly recognize that those who engage in violence have usually witnessed violence or been victimized, that violence spreads through exposure, and that its transmission can be mitigated and prevented.”
The Devastating Consequences Of Leaving Higher Education Out Of Prison Reform
Lucy Lang & Vivian Nixon⎮July 23, 2020
“Now more than ever, we cannot afford to divest from higher-education opportunities for vulnerable populations. And that must include people caught up in the U.S. justice system. Indeed, research shows that incarcerated people who participate in education programs are 43 percent less likely to end up back in prison than those who don’t.”
It’s Long Past Time To Let Incarcerated Citizens Vote
Lucy Lang⎮July 22, 2020
“American criminal law is at a turning point, with movements for racial justice, an end to mass incarceration and reallocations of police funding at the top of legislative agendas across the country. But what’s glaringly missing is a call to cease the practice of taking voting rights away from people convicted of crimes. Like poll taxes and literacy tests, felon disenfranchisement should be relegated to history.”
A ‘Community Justice’ Vision For The Modern Prosecutor
Michelle Mason⎮July 17, 2020
“The current movement for Black lives and opposition to injustice in the criminal legal system has been rightly centered on policing. But reimagining the system should not end there. While police are the first interaction a community may have with the justice system, prosecutors hold immense power in determining the long-term role the criminal legal system will play in a community’s well-being.”
How Prosecutors Can Usher In A More Just Legal System
Jamila Hodge and Lucy Lang⎮July 15, 2020
“George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. We say their names, yet there is not enough time in the world to call out all the names of Black people whose deaths are intrinsically connected to a criminal legal system that was designed to target and control Black communities.”
Virtual Criminal Justice May Make The System More Equitable
Lucy Lang⎮July 1, 2020
“THE COVID-19 CRISIS closed local, state, and federal courtrooms, put trials on hold, and delayed justice. Now courts are evaluating how to resume operations in a world where social distancing and limited contact are the new norm. The reopening process is not just vital for our constitutional rights, but necessary to begin to address stark racial disparities that have become all the more apparent through the pandemic and recent reckoning on police violence and systemic inequities.”
Trapped: A Surge In Domestic Violence Amid COVID-19 Exposes Dangerous Gaps In Justice System
Lucy Lang⎮June 18, 2020
“This was not the first time he abused her, but on this night a neighbor heard the sound of a shattering television and called 911. The NYPD then, as now, followed their “mandatory arrest” protocols landing this case on my desk late one night in 2010. “
Sex Trafficking Survivors' Stories Must Be Heard
Michelle Mason⎮June 12, 2020
“The killing of Breonna Taylor and the Black Lives Matter protests have pushed the victimization and oppression of black women and girls in the criminal justice system to the forefront of the national conversation on racial disparities in law enforcement. The subjugation of black women and girls in the criminal justice system has been systemically enabled and overlooked. Among the most vulnerable are the thousands of young black girls who are trafficked every year.”
Using Courts To Help Solve The Mental Health Crisis
Michael Kahn⎮May 28, 2020
“The state of mental illness in this country is beyond the trite notion of a crisis; it’s at a point of comedic absurdity.” This scathing assessment of the American mental health crisis, offered by California Governor Gavin Newsom, lays bare in the starkest of terms what anyone who works in criminal justice already knows: we are failing hundreds of thousands of people with mental health issues. Governor Newsom’s evaluation is particularly important to keep in mind this May, mental health awareness month.”
COVID-19 Crisis Highlights The Urgency Of Prison Reentry Reform
ShanaKay Salmon⎮May 27, 2020
“Across the country thousands of people are being released from prisons and jails, with a majority from jails, due to policies enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but when these people return home they are often no safer than the place they were confined to.”
How Prosecutors Can Acknowledge Legacies Of Injustice
Michelle Mason⎮April 27, 2020
“Over the past few years, American politicians have grappled publicly with the question of accountability. On the presidential debate stage, Pete Buttigieg and Michael Bloomberg issued apologies to the minority communities in their jurisdictions. On an institutional scale, Congress held a historic hearing last summer on the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.”
Prosecutors Should Protect Workers From White-Collar Crime
Lucy Lang⎮April 14, 2020
“Across New York state crime and arrests have dropped dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, with the biggest decreases being seen outside of New York City. Yet many New Yorkers are suffering more due to economic contraction and the widely anticipated recession.”
Why Prosecutors Need To Understand The Impact Of Trauma
Shonna Carlson⎮March 20, 2020
“For too long, the criminal legal system has been the first responder to America’s mental health crisis, forced into action as the initial point of contact for people who have experienced significant trauma.”
Prosecutors, Incarcerees Find Common Language In Six-Week NYC Program
ShanaKay Salmon⎮February 28, 2020
“Can prosecutors learn from the people they send to prison? The latest round of an innovative New York City program that brings together Assistant District Attorneys and incarcerees suggests they can.”
Restorative Justice In Action: A Man Killed Another Man, Then He Sat In A Circle With His Victim’s Family
Lucy Lang⎮December 8, 2019
“Matthew Lee looked into the tearful eyes of the son of a man he had murdered. It was Nov. 19, 2019, in a conference room at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Family Justice Center, a year-and-a-half after Mother’s Day, 2018, when the 50-year-old Lee had followed a beloved 87-year-old Lehman College political philosophy professor, Young Kun Kim, into a bank vestibule on the Upper West Side.”
INSIGHT: Prosecutors Using Charging Discretion Can Reform The Criminal Justice System
David Baumwoll⎮December 6, 2019
”Prosecutors are afforded unmatched power to determine whether to charge a person with a crime. Former prosecutor David Baumwoll explains how, by exercising charging discretion, prosecutors can alter the fate of hundreds of thousands of individuals, repair relationships within the community, and promote public safety and fairness.”
The Punishment Bureaucracy Has Nothing To Do With Justice
Lucy Lang⎮November 18, 2019
“An Alabama mother was shackled in front of her children for failing to pay parking tickets and forced to clean the courthouse bathrooms to earn her freedom. A disabled man in Missouri was jailed in a moldy cell without access to his medications because he could not afford to pay a fine.”
SF Election Advances Progressive Prosecution Movement
Lucy Lang⎮November 15, 2019
“Chesa Boudin’s election as San Francisco’s district attorney, coupled with his predecessor George Gascón’s challenge to Los Angeles County incumbent prosecutor Jackie Lacey, puts California on the front lines of the groundswell of the progressive prosecution movement.”
How To Make Sure They Don’t Go Back: New York State Is Failing At Prisoner Reentry
Lucy Lang⎮October 27, 2019
“My friend Emmanuel died this summer. It was an unorthodox friendship, formed in 2018 when I was a prosecutor and he was incarcerated in Queensboro Correctional Facility. We met in a class I teach called Inside Criminal Justice, which brings prosecutors and incarcerated students together to find ways to change the legal system in our city.”
‘Where’s My ID?’ Prosecutors Get A Harsh Lesson In Post-Prison Life
Shonna Carlson⎮October 15, 2019
“District Attorneys are accustomed to recommending prison sentences as part of their job. But in an unusual exercise this month, they learned what it felt like to reenter society after serving time behind bars."
States Should Follow New York's Lead In The Fight Against Racial Terror
Lucy Lang⎮September 10, 2019
“Over a few shorts weeks this summer — as we neared the 18th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. — young white Americans ended 34 lives during three unrelated mass shootings across the country. While identifying a definitive motive can be a challenge in the aftermath of any crime, there were striking similarities between these shootings.”
Prosecutors Need To Take The Lead In Reforming Prisons
Lucy Lang⎮August 27, 2019
“More than a decade into my career as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, I investigated a murder on upper Broadway, in which two masked men opened fire in a busy street, shooting four people nonfatally and point-blank murdering a fifth. Over the course of an 18-month investigation and a six-week jury trial, I spent countless hours with the heartbroken mother of the murdered young man to ensure that the killers—two men in their 20s—were held accountable.”
Mr. Barr, Discretion Is A Prosecutor’s Job
Lucy Lang⎮August 26, 2019
“Last week, in a speech to the Fraternal Order of Police, Attorney General Barr denounced local prosecutors across the country as “undercutting the police, letting criminals off the hook, and refusing to enforce the law.” He went on to prophesy that this will result in “more crime; more victims.” These comments seemed to target the so-called “progressive prosecutors,” whom AG Barr derided as “anti-law enforcement DAs,” in particular for policies declining to prosecute cases under specific criminal statutes. ”
American Prosecutors Need Not Wait For Marijuana Legalization
Lucy Lang⎮August 7, 2019
“Last week, Governor Cuomo signed a bill effectively decriminalizing recreational use of marijuana. Once in effect at the end of August, New Yorkers charged with possession of less than two ounces of marijuana will face fines instead of criminal charges. Possession of over two ounces of marijuana maintains high fines and the possibility of jail time.”
Re “Rethinking Extreme Sentences” (Op-Ed, Aug. 2)
Lucy Lang & James Doyle⎮August 2, 2019
“James Forman Jr. and Sarah Lustbader rightly laud the movement to create sentencing review units in prosecutors’ offices. Beyond reviewing sentences that no longer comport with modern standards of proportionality, such units can and should include backward-looking relief, like sealing and expungement of cases that are either no longer criminal or for which justice otherwise warrants.”
Words Matter In Criminal Justice Reform
Lucy Lang⎮May 31, 2019
“Recent calls for prosecutors in cities across the country to use their discretionary power to stop the mass incarceration crisis has resulted in programs called “alternatives to incarceration” and “diversion.” These programs are, for the most part, a good thing, but the terminology shows that we are thinking about the problem all wrong. Words matter, especially when defining our collective goals, expectations, and values.”
Why Restorative Justice Should Be On Every Prosecutor’s To-Do List
ShanaKay Salmon⎮May 1, 2019
“As prosecutors across the country engage in a deep self-examination of their role in criminal justice reform, no idea has more potential to break the cycle of a historically unjust system than restorative justice. ”
Shield Courthouses From ICE: Immigration Enforcement In Court Settings Makes Us Less Safe
Robert M. Morgenthau & Lucy Lang⎮April 28, 2019
“The current federal administration is flirting with the ill-conceived notion of appointing an “immigration czar,” deportation efforts have been stepped up across the land, and 280 immigrants were arrested at work in Texas earlier this month. Most alarmingly, the heightened enforcement now reaches into our halls of justice, as even courthouses are regularly swept by immigration officials.”
How We Judge Prosecutors Has To Change
Rachel Barkow, Lucy Lang, Anne Milgram & Courtney Oliva⎮April 9, 2019
“The criminal justice reform movement has rightfully focused on prosecutors as key actors in bringing about much-needed change. Dozens of reform-minded prosecutors have been elected throughout the country promising to tackle mass incarceration while keeping their communities safe. They will not succeed unless they redefine what it means to be a “successful prosecutor.”
Why Your Vote Can Help Kickstart Real Justice Reform
Lucy Lang⎮November 6, 2018
“The scourge of mass incarceration is at last getting the attention it deserves from reform-minded district attorneys around the country. Many of them are running for election or re-election today. The data bears out the extent to which elected prosecutors have contributed to the unconscionable number of people in American prisons, the tragically disparate racial impact, and underscores the fact that the exercise of prosecutorial discretion could significantly reduce those numbers.”
Rachel Mitchell Violated National Prosecutorial Standards
Lucy Lang⎮October 12, 2018
“The American prosecutorial community held its collective breath when prosecutor Rachel Mitchell was selected to question Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation hearing. This was the first time that members of the Senate Judiciary Committee hired an active state prosecutor to question a witness—and the nominee—in front of the world.”
Black Women Prosecutors Are Under Attack—Just Like Kamala Harris | Opinion
Chantelle Williams | September 4, 2024 | Newsweek “The past decade has marked a significant increase in the election of Black women prosecutors. They have stood as trailblazers in their commitment to reforming the criminal justice system. Many are leaving office today amid a surge of identity-related attacks, including false accusations of corruption, incompetence, and "reverse racism." Governors, state legislatures, and the courts have employed unprecedented tools—including suspensions, preemption bills, and the appointment of special prosecutors—to remove their authority. These attacks are not only anti-Black but also deeply misogynistic, perpetuating harmful stereotypes that seek to delegitimize Black women in prosecutorial roles.”