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Reform-Minded Prosecutors Use Charging Discretion to Benefit Communities
by Anthony Accurso
Now that the nation is evolving from “tough on crime” to “smart on crime” tactics, reform-minded prosecutors are making big changes by exercising their discretion on how and when to prosecute low-level offenders.
At the highest levels of government, politicians in both parties have been ...
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- Cops Killed Nearly 13 Times More People Than Mass Shooters, by Bill Barton
- U.S. District Judge Blows Open ATF Fake Stash-House Stings, Wants to Know Why They Only Target Minorities, by Dale Chappell
- New Jersey Tightens Reins on Civil Asset Forfeiture, by Douglas Ankney
- Nevada Supreme Court: 26-Month Delay Between Charges and Arrest Constitutes Speedy Trial Violation, by Anthony Accurso
- New York to Seal Convictions for Small Amounts of Marijuana
- Warrant Gives Police Access to DNA Database, by Jayson Hawkins
- Rhode Island Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Due to Prosecutor’s Remarks and Jury Consideration of Inadmissible Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Implied Bias the Same as Actual Juror Bias, Requiring Automatic Reversal, by Anthony Accurso
- Racial Disparity at Sentencing on the Rise, by Anthony Accurso
- NYC Drug Prosecutor Bucks Trend of Releasing List of Cops with Credibility Issues, by Douglas Ankney
- Louisiana Supreme Court: State Abused Charging Authority by Dismissing and Reinstituting Charges to Circumvent Adverse Court Ruling, by Anthony Accurso
- Jury Nullification as a Cure for Prosecutorial Overreach, by Anthony Accurso
- New Lie Detectors Are On the Way, But Are They Better Than the Old One?, by Anthony Accurso
- California Supreme Court: Positioning Computer Monitor to Obstruct Defendant’s View of Complaining Witness Violates Confrontation Clause, by Douglas Ankney
- Ohio Supreme Court: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Analysis Applies to Failure to Seek Waiver of Court Costs, by David M. Reutter
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Police Must Inform Arrested Driver That Passenger Can Assume Custody of Vehicle if Lawful and Practical as Alternative to Impoundment, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: Hunch That Proves Correct Is Not Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
- Sex Offenders Go to W.A.R., by Edward Lyon
- New Orleans Sheriff’s Office Tracked Cellphones Absent Warrants, by Chad Marks
- Nevada Supreme Court: Duress Defense May be Used for Non-Death Penalty Charges, Even When Connected to Charges Punishable by Death, by Dale Chappell
- Reform-Minded Prosecutors Use Charging Discretion to Benefit Communities, by Anthony Accurso
- Kansas Supreme Court: Claim of Illegal Sentence Raised for First Time on Appeal Entitled to Merits Review, by Michael Berk
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds Retention of Defendant’s ID Card Constitutes ‘Seizure’ for Fourth Amendment Purposes, by Dale Chappell
- Sex Offender Registries Grounded in False Notions, by Anthony Accurso
- Third Circuit Holds ‘Bare’ Arrest Record Insufficient to Support Higher Sentence, by Dale Chappell
- Fact or Fiction, Television Crime Shows Ignore Racism and Reality, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- The Faulty Science of Breathalyzers, by Jayson Hawkins
- Sixth Circuit: Ohio’s Stringent Post-Conviction Filing Deadline Opens Window for Federal Review Under Trevino, by Anthony Accurso
- Maryland Court of Appeals Announces, When Requested, Trial Courts Must Ask During Voir Dire Whether Jurors Will Follow Court’s Instructions on Presumption of Innocence, Burden of Proof, and Right Not to Testify, by Douglas Ankney
- Louisiana Supreme Court: When an Identified Attorney Seeks to Assist a Person in Custody and Police Fail to Inform the Person, Inculpatory Statements Must Be Suppressed, by Douglas Ankney
- D.C. Circuit: 18 U.S.C. § 1114 Does Not Apply Overseas But § 924(c) Does, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit: Confrontation Clause Violated When Jury Is Told ‘Other Guy’ Referenced in Non-Testifying Codefendant’s Statement Is the Defendant, by Douglas Ankney
- Georgia Supreme Court Overrules 50 Years of Jurisprudence and Announces Courts Are to Consider Cumulative Prejudice of Trial Court and Counsel Errors, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Orders Habeas Relief After California Concedes Conviction Should Be Overturned Due to Defense Counsel’s ‘Virulent Racism’, by Douglas Ankney
- Michigan Supreme Court: Defendant Entitled to Self-defense Jury Instruction, by David M. Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Holds Brain Injury May Allow Equitable Tolling to File Late Habeas Petition, by Dale Chappell
- Life Sentence for Murder Overturned by New DNA Technology, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Expert’s Burn-Pattern Conclusions Flawed, by David M. Reutter
- New York’s SARA Requirements Force Sex-Offenders into Homelessness Then Hold Them in Prison Due to Their Homelessness, by Kevin Bliss
- Law Review Article Zeros in on Roadblocks to Plea Bargain Fairness and Effectiveness, by David M. Reutter
- Kansas Supreme Court: State Failed to Prove Building Was a Dwelling, by Douglas Ankney
- Maine Supreme Court Declares Blood Draw Statute Unconstitutional, Overruling Cormier, by Douglas Ankney
- Utah District Court Finds First Step Act Gives Court Authority to Reduce Stacked 55-Year § 924(c) Sentence, by Chad Marks
- Seventh Circuit Vacates Guilty Pleas Based on Misinformation of Mandatory Minimum, by David M. Reutter
- More Trainings Are Not the Answer to Police Violence Against Disabled People, by Euree Kim
- Sixth Circuit Adopts ‘Naked Eye Test’ for Altered Firearm Serial Number Enhancement, by Dale Chappell
- Connecticut Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for Confrontation Clause Claims; Reverses and Remands for a New Trial, by Douglas Ankney
- Spirited (But Problematic?) Advocacy for Bernie Madoff to Receive Compassionate Relief, by Professor Douglas A. Berman
- Iowa Supreme Court: Officer’s Delay of Traffic Stop to Investigate Other Matters Unconstitutional, by David M. Reutter
- The Rise of Smart Camera Networks, and Why We Should Ban Them, by Michael Kwet
More from Anthony Accurso:
- D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Feb. 15, 2025
- $220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal, Feb. 15, 2025
- Colorado Supreme Court Holds Defendant Was in ‘Custody’ for Miranda Purposes Because She Had Hands Bagged and Zip Tied, Commanded Not to Remove Them, and Questioned Alone in Interrogation Room With Door Closed, Feb. 15, 2025
- First Circuit Holds No Emergency-Aid Exception to Warrant Requirement Where Police Have Information That Subject Is Already Deceased, Feb. 15, 2025
- Police Departments Are Now Using AI to Write Reports, Feb. 15, 2025
- Illinois Supreme Court Announces Odor of Burnt Cannabis Alone Is Insufficient to Establish Probable Cause for a Warrantless Vehicle Search, Feb. 1, 2025
- Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints, Feb. 1, 2025
- Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Relief Where Both Trial and Appellate Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Challenge Indictment for Residential Burglary That Failed to Allege Defendant Illegally Entered a ‘Dwelling’, Jan. 15, 2025
- Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated, Jan. 15, 2025
- Nevada Supreme Court Announces Incorporated Probable Cause Affidavit Cannot Broaden Scope of Warrant’s Description of Places and Persons to be Searched or Items to Be Seized, Dec. 1, 2024
More from these topics:
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments, Feb. 15, 2025. Prosecutors, Wrongful Conviction, Prior Convictions - Expungement or Reversal of, Improper Comment.
- PPI Releases 10th Anniversary Report on Mass Incarceration in the U.S., Nov. 15, 2024. Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
- Nailing Down “Top Cop” Kamala Harris on Criminal Justice Reform, Oct. 15, 2024. Criminal justice system reform.
- Study Finds That Black Americans Want Both Police Presence and Reform: Looking Beyond the Headlines, Oct. 1, 2024. Criminal justice system reform, Police, Racial Profiling.
- Bruce Johnson 1950–2024, Sept. 15, 2024. Editorials, Criminal justice system reform, Attorneys.
- Massachusetts Prison Closure Reflects Success of Criminal Justice Reforms, Aug. 15, 2024. Criminal justice system reform, Rural Prisons.
- BOP Hires Sentencing Reform Advocate, July 1, 2024. Criminal justice system reform, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
- Virginia Legislature Tables “Second-Look” Bills, July 1, 2024. Criminal justice system reform, Good Time.
- Reform-Minded Prosecutors Face Backlash for Prosecuting Bad Cops, June 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Prosecutors, Police/Govt Misconduct, Criticism of Government.
- Landmark Drug Possession Reform Based on Unproven Allegations Reversed in Oregon, June 15, 2024. Criminal justice system reform, War on Drugs, State Law Claims.