Reimagining Prosecution: in Search of the True Progressive
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Expiration and Vacancies Governor July 2021
State of Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Expiration and Vacancies Governor July 2021 802 Stratton Office Building Springfield, IL 62706 Phone: 217/782-5320 Fax: 217/782-3515 http://cgfa.ilga.gov JOINT COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES House Republican Leader/Chairperson Rep. Jim Durkin Senate Republican Leader Sen. Dan McConchie President of the Senate Sen. Don Harmon Speaker of the House Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENT FORECASTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY Co-Chairperson Sen. David Koehler Co-Chairperson Rep. C. D. Davidsmeyer Executive Director Clayton Klenke Deputy Director Laurie Eby Senators Representatives Omar Aquino Amy Elik Darren Bailey Amy Grant Donald P. DeWitte Sonya Harper Elgie Sims Elizabeth Hernandez Dave Syverson Anna Moeller The Commission on Government Forecasting & Accountability is a bipartisan legislative support service agency that is responsible for advising the Illinois General Assembly on economic and fiscal policy issues and for providing objective policy research for legislators and legislative staff. The Commission’s board is comprised of twelve legislators-split evenly between the House and Senate and between Democrats and Republicans. The Commission has three internal units--Revenue, Pensions, and Research, each of which has a staff of analysts and researchers who analyze policy proposals, legislation, state revenues & expenditures, and benefit programs, and who provide research services to members and staff of the General Assembly. The Commission’s Revenue and Pension Units annually publish a number of statutorily mandated reports as well as on-demand reports in regard to Illinois’ financial and economic condition, the annual operating and capital budgets, public employee retirement systems, and other policy issues. -
Sentences of Incarceration Decline Sharply, Public Safety Improves
Sentences of Incarceration Decline Sharply, Public Safety Improves During Kim Foxx’s Second Year in Office New data portal demonstrates benefit of criminal justice reform, transparency A Report from Community Partners by Reclaim Chicago, The People’s Lobby, and Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice Release July 2019 INTRODUCTION The People’s Lobby, Reclaim Chicago, and Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice have been tracking data on how prosecution is changing in Cook County since Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s first year in office. The People’s Lobby and Reclaim Chicago ran major voter contact operations to support State’s Attorney Foxx’s election on a decarceration platform and pledged to work to ensure that her vision of criminal justice reform happened once she took office. Chicago Appleseed has been advocating for criminal justice reform for decades and has a history of tracking data related to the Cook County court system. This is the fourth report in our series.1 In May 2019, State’s Attorney Foxx’s office took another major step forward in transparency by creating a user-friendly data portal, a dynamic dashboard showing how the office handles felony cases from initiations to sentencing in real time. This data portal helps make the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office one of the most transparent in the country. This report looks at four key metrics in the data that was recently released: number of sentences of incarceration, number of felony charges, number of guilty pleas, and number of cases dropped. We find that the use of prosecutorial discretion in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has led to a decrease in incarceration sentences. -
Transcript Decarceration Nation Episode 67: Rachael Rollins
Transcript Decarceration Nation Episode 67: Rachael Rollins Josh Hoe 0:03 Hello and welcome to this episode and a special set of episodes of the decarceration nation podcast from the Smart on Crime innovations conference in New York City. I say we because I'm thrilled that our web guru Robert Alvarez was able to join me in New York City for the conference. As result, Robert and I got to interview several thought leaders in the criminal justice reform field. The episode you're about to hear is one of a series of five interviews, which will be releasing over the next two and a half weeks. Each episode will be intentionally shorter than our normal episodes running for this they'll probably be running between 20 and 30 minutes. Okay, here we go. I hope you enjoy the special Decarceration Nation Podcast episodes from the 2019 Smart on Crime conference. Robert Alvarez 0:49 Hello, this is Robert Alvarez and I'm here with Josh Hoe We are Decarceration Nation and we're live from the Smart on Crime innovations conference 2019 at john Jay College will be Introducing Rachael Rollins. She is the district attorney of Suffolk County in Massachusetts, which includes the municipalities of Boston, Chelsea, revere and winter. Josh? Josh Hoe Welcome to the Decarceration Nation. Rachel, Rachael Rollins 1:12 Thanks for having me here. Josh Hoe 1:14 Yeah, it's great to have you here. I'm going to start off in kind of a weird place because we have more important things to discuss. -
Postelectionreport 031516.Pdf
COOK COUNTY CLERK DAVID ORR 69 W. Washington, Suite 500, Chicago, Illinois 60602 TEL (312) 603-0996 FAX (312) 603-9788 WEB cookcountyclerk.com Dear Friends: The March 15, 2016 Presidential Primary shattered modern-day records going back more than 25 years. The popularity of initiatives such as Online Voter Registration and Election Day Registration, as well as registration and voting for 17-year-olds, proved there is a great desire by voters to take part in the electoral process. This was the first presidential election to include Election Day Registration and voting by 17-year- olds who will be 18-years-old by the General Election – offerings we found to be very popular with suburban Cook County voters. This 2016 Presidential Primary Post-Election Report takes a comprehensive look at the voting totals, trends and statistics during the March primary throughout suburban Cook County. Below is a sample size of the standout primary numbers: • Voting before Election Day – by mail, or during early voting and grace period voting – accounted for 22 percent of all ballots cast in this election. • Early Voting set a new primary record with 113,641 ballots cast in a Presidential Primary. • More than 23,000 suburban Cook County voters took advantage of Election Day Registration. • Nearly 4,400 17-year-olds voted, accounting for 62 percent of the 7,085 who registered to vote. • Donald Trump won 25 of the 30 Suburban Cook County Townships, garnering his best total in Stickney Township, with 62.1 percent of the vote. • Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were separated by just nine votes in Norwood Park Township (Clinton: 1,859; Sanders: 1,850). -
FJP 21St Century Prosecution Task Force Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT August 17, 2021 Miriam Krinsky [email protected] 818-416-5218 Over 100 Criminal Justice Leaders Call on the Biden Administration to Establish a Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Prosecution Fair and Just Prosecution releases new proposal highlighting why a high-level national body is essential to transforming the criminal legal system and how it can build on the innovations and success of a new generation of elected local prosecutors Today, 107 criminal justice leaders – including a high-level bipartisan group of current and former elected prosecutors, Police Chiefs, Sheriffs, and former Department of Justice officials – sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to establish a Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Prosecution that would build on the work of the reform-minded prosecutor movement, catalyze innovation in the criminal legal system nationwide and chart a path to greater justice and equity in all communities. The letter coincided with the release of Fair and Just Prosecution’s new white paper, “The Case for a Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Prosecution,” which outlines why this effort is urgent at a time of waning trust in the criminal legal system and how this long overdue national support for reforming the criminal justice system through the power and clout of elected prosecutors – a group that in the past has failed to garner national attention or support – can respond to community voices, as well as bipartisan agreement, coalescing around the need to embrace smarter strategies for promoting public safety. “For too long, prosecutors have used their vast discretion to pursue convictions and extreme sentences as part of a false promise of public safety; a new generation of prosecutors is changing this paradigm and prioritizing equity and justice while also improving the safety and well-being of our communities. -
“Progressive” Prosecutors Sabotage the Rule of Law, Raise Crime Rates, and Ignore Victims Charles D
LEGAL MEMORANDUM No. 275 | OCTOBER 29, 2020 EDWIN MEESE III CENTER FOR LEGAL & JUDICIAL STUDIES “Progressive” Prosecutors Sabotage the Rule of Law, Raise Crime Rates, and Ignore Victims Charles D. Stimson and Zack Smith Introduction KEY TAKEAWAYS The American prosecutor occupies a unique role Rogue prosecutors usurp the role of state among lawyers. The prosecutor has a higher duty legislatures, thereby violating the sepa- than other attorneys. His duty is to seek justice, not ration of powers between the executive branch and legislative branch. simply to obtain convictions. As the American Bar Association notes, “The prosecutor should seek to protect the innocent and convict the guilty, consider Rogue prosecutors abuse the role of the the interests of victims and witnesses, and respect the district attorney by refusing to prosecute constitutional and legal rights of all persons, including broad categories of crimes, thereby failing suspects and defendants.”1 to enforce the law faithfully. Prosecutors play a vital and indispensable role in the fair and just administration of criminal law. As mem- bers of the executive branch at the local, state, or federal Violent crime goes up and victims’ rights level, they, like all other members of the executive are ignored in rogue prosecutors’ cities. branch, take an oath to support and defend the Consti- tution and faithfully execute the law as written. They do not make laws. That is the duty of the legislative branch. This paper, in its entirety, can be found at http://report.heritage.org/lm275 The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE | Washington, DC 20002 | (202) 546-4400 | heritage.org Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. -
When Prosecutors Politick: Progressive Law Enforcers Then and Now
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 110 Issue 4 Fall Article 3 Fall 2020 When Prosecutors Politick: Progressive Law Enforcers Then and Now Bruce A. Green Rebecca Roiphe Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons Recommended Citation Bruce A. Green and Rebecca Roiphe, When Prosecutors Politick: Progressive Law Enforcers Then and Now, 110 J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 719 (2020). https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol110/iss4/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Scholarly Commons. 0091-4169/20/11004-0719 THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINOLOGY Vol. 110, No. 4 Copyright © 2020 by Bruce A. Green & Rebecca Roiphe Printed in U.S.A. WHEN PROSECUTORS POLITICK: PROGRESSIVE LAW ENFORCERS THEN AND NOW BRUCE A. GREEN & REBECCA ROIPHE* A new and recognizable group of reform-minded prosecutors has assumed the mantle of progressive prosecution. The term is hard to define in part because its adherents embrace a diverse set of policies and priorities. In comparing the contemporary movement with Progressive Era prosecutors, this Article has two related goals. First, it seeks to better define progressive prosecution. Second, it uses a historical comparison to draw some lessons for the current movement. Both groups of prosecutors were elected on a wave of popular support. Unlike today’s mainstream prosecutors who tend to campaign and labor in relative obscurity, these two sets of prosecutors received a good deal of popular attention and support. -
As We Begin the Year
Sheriff’s Statement Index As we begin the Year 2019, I’d like to offer SCSD Hosts 2nd City Council Hearing my sincere appreciation For only the second time, the Suffolk County for the custody and non- Sheriff’s Department welcomed the Boston custody staff members who City Council into the House of Correction demonstrate dedication, for a hearing on incarceration, recidivism commitment and pride for and reentry. the work they do on a daily basis to ensure that the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department continues to be one of the best law enforcement organizations in the country. Additionally, I’d like to thank all of the hardworking providers, volunteers and concerned citizens who continue to work with us to maintain services and programming of the highest quality to the people in our care and custody in an effort to help them to become better equipped to provide for themselves and their families upon their return to society. The goals that we’ve achieved and the new programming that we’ve Department’s O.A.S.I.S. Unit Unveiled introduced this year were made possible by all of the Department Earlier this year, the Department opened the staff, practitioners and supporters who joined together in the O.A.S.I.S. (Opioid and Addiction Services common cause of rehabilitation, reinvention and reintegration of Inside South Bay) Unit to provide intensive the men and women remanded to our care and custody. Many substance abuse treatment and discharge thanks to you all for all of your efforts, and I wish you great planning services to male pretrial detainees. -
Building Safe, Thriving Communities: Research-Based Strategies for Public Safety
BUILDING SAFE, THRIVING COMMUNITIES: RESEARCH-BASED STRATEGIES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY NYU School of Law Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law Kim Foxx Cook County State’s Attorney Garry McFadden Mecklenburg County Sherif Stephanie Morales Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Portsmouth Marilyn Mosby Baltimore City State’s Attorney Rachael Rollins Sufolk County District Attorney October 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Decades of harsh, carceral law enforcement Lawmakers and prosecutors across the country practices have perpetuated cycles of violence are implementing policies to reduce the reliance and harm without making us safer. The number on money bail as a mechanism for pretrial of individuals behind bars—particularly for detention and to replace the wealth-based system low-level ofenses—is not a measure of public with practices designed to help individuals meet safety, and in fact has tremendous costs and their pretrial obligations. In addition, reforms to consequences that detract from the goal of probation systems are decreasing recidivism rates creating healthy, stable communities. Progress by tailoring conditions to serve rehabilitative toward this goal requires transformational purposes and reducing the length of supervision. change in the way we approach law enforcement And many jurisdictions are rethinking their practices, specifcally in the felds of policing, approach to marijuana enforcement, either prosecution, and sentencing. We cannot continue legalizing or decriminalizing the use of small to use incarceration as our default solution. amounts, or reducing the severity of the All over the country, law enforcement ofcials, consequences associated with marijuana ofenses. prosecutors, and lawmakers are reducing their Sentencing reforms include second-look or reliance on enforcement and incarceration, and sentence review policies in district attorney ofces are instead implementing practices and policies that reevaluate excessively harsh sentences or that focus on reinvestment, research-based dubious convictions. -
ACLU Questionairre ROLLINS
RACHAEL ROLLINS GENERAL QUESTIONS & MY ANSWERS 1. There are currently 250+ employees working at the SCDAO who are going to have to be re-trained and led to the reform and change of culture needed in the office. Part of that culture shift starts with a move away from rewarding wins and losses, and toward rewarding fair and just outcomes, one case at a time. As the next DA, I will keep and get communities safe and seek justice for victims. Under my leadership, prosecution will be only one of the many tools we will use to make this happen. My lived, legal, and leadership experiences uniquely prepare me to be the most qualified and best equipped candidate to shift the culture within the SCDAO. Unique Lived Experience: I am a 47 year old, black woman. I am a mother and the oldest of five siblings. I have family members that have been incarcerated. I have legal custody of 2 of my nieces due to the opioid crisis and mental health issues. All of these lived experiences directly impact my life on a daily basis. I will bring these experiences to the DA’s Office. Additionally, some of the communities within Suffolk County that feel over-policed and over-prosecuted, while at the same time neglected, ignored and/or blamed with respect to violence in their communities, will now have a voice within, and access to, the SCDAO under my leadership. Their (as well as everyone else’s) comments, complaints and suggestions will be heard and addressed. Relevant Legal Experience: I have been a practicing lawyer for 20+ years. -
Taking a Deeper Dive Into Progressive Prosecution: Evaluating the Trend Through the Lens of Geography: Part Two: External Constraints
Boston College Law Review Volume 61 Issue 9 Electronic Supplement Article 9 3-11-2020 Taking a Deeper Dive into Progressive Prosecution: Evaluating the Trend Through the Lens of Geography: Part Two: External Constraints Madison McWithey Boston College Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr Part of the Criminal Procedure Commons, and the Law and Society Commons Recommended Citation Madison McWithey, Taking a Deeper Dive into Progressive Prosecution: Evaluating the Trend Through the Lens of Geography: Part Two: External Constraints, 61 B.C.L. Rev. E.Supp. I.-49 (2020), https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr/vol61/iss9/9 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TAKING A DEEPER DIVE INTO PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTION: EVALUATING THE TREND THROUGH THE LENS OF GEOGRAPHY PART TWO: EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS MADISON MCWITHEY* Abstract: “Progressive prosecution” has injected new life into criminal justice reform. This trend, which calls for less punishment, less prosecution of many lower-level crimes, and more diversion programs, has taken hold in large cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and Houston, as well as in smaller rural dis- tricts. Despite the hype, however, progressive prosecution has its limitations. This article discusses four of those limitations and analyzes their effect on pro- gressive prosecution’s likelihood of success in both urban and rural districts. -
REIMAGINING PROSECUTION: a Growing Progressive Movement
REIMAGINING PROSECUTION: A Growing Progressive Movement Angela J. Davis About the Author Angela J. Davis is a Professor at American University Washington College of Law and a former director of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. She thanks Meagan Allen and Philip Green for their research assistance. Abstract Prosecutors are the most powerful officials in the criminal justice system. At least ninety percent of all criminal cases are prosecuted on the state level, and in all but five jurisdictions, the chief prosecutor (also known as the district attorney) is an elected official. Most district attor- neys run unopposed and serve for decades. However, in recent years, a number of incumbent district attorneys have been challenged and defeat- ed by individuals who pledged to use their power and discretion to reduce the incarceration rate and eliminate unwarranted racial disparities in the criminal justice system. These so-called “progressive prosecutors” have enjoyed some modest successes, but many have faced challenges—from within and outside of their offices. This Article discusses some of these successes and challenges and proposes guidelines to assist newly-elected district attorneys who are committed to criminal justice reform. Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................2 I. Mass Incarceration, Racial Disparities, and the Role of the Prosecutor ...............................................................................3 II.