They Report To You

A Campaign for District Attorney Accountability

They Report To You
  • ABOUT
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
    • Why DAs Matter
  • GET THE FACTS
    • What Is a DA?
    • What Makes a DA So Powerful?
    • Who Holds DAs Accountable?
    • Who’s My DA?
    • FAQs
  • ISSUES
    • Police Accountability
    • Mandatory Minimums
  • DA ELECTIONS
    • How They Work
    • Roadblocks To Reform
    • The Governor’s Role
  • TAKE ACTION
    • Sign the Voter Pledge
    • Share Your Story
    • Request A Speaker
    • Contact Us
  • RESOURCES
    • Press Releases
    • Media Stories
    • Videos
    • Blog
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

The Most Powerful Elected Official You’ve Never Heard Of

  • BlogPowerful and Unaccountable
The Most Powerful Elected Official You’ve Never Heard Of
May 9, 2017- by David Rogers, Executive Director.

Do you know who your district attorney is? If you do, you are among a very small percentage of the public.

District attorneys (DAs) are arguably the most powerful people in the criminal justice system, but the public doesn’t know who they are. Why does this matter? In our latest report, Roadblocks to Reform, we identify district attorneys as a central barrier to criminal justice reform.There is a growing national consensus that America’s criminal justice system has core problems. We lead the world in the use of incarceration, while prisons are the most expensive and least effective public safety intervention. Despite increased media coverage of deeply troubling criminal justice issues and attention from the public and other elected officials, the role of district attorneys gets little attention. Although police are responsible for arrests, prosecutors in district attorneys’ offices have a tremendous amount of responsibility in determining people’s fate once they enter the system.

DAs determine: 

  • whether someone gets access to drug treatment or is prosecuted
  • whether a young person is kept in the juvenile justice system or prosecuted in the adult system where they are much more likely to be hurt and to re-offend.
  • whether to seek the death penalty.

DAs influence:

  •  the extent of racial disparity in sentencing.
  • whether a police officer is charged in a case of misconduct.

In Oregon, district attorneys are elected leaders. But over the past ten years, 78% of DAs in Oregon ran unopposed. That means nearly eight out of 10 district attorney races were over before they began. In a healthy democracy, no elected official should be guaranteed reelection.

The report also examines the role gubernatorial appointments play in selecting interim DAs. Nearly half of our existing DAs initially enter office through gubernatorial appointments which have happened quietly, flying under the radar of the public.

Meanwhile, Oregon’s District Attorney Association has been one of the primary opponents to any progressive criminal justice reform in the state.

Roadblocks to Reform The report examines how district attorney elections and appointments lock in the criminal justice status quo, preventing much needed progress and public engagement. The report also includes recommendations for changing these dynamics.

This report is a must read for people concerned with addressing mass criminalization and over incarceration in Oregon as well as severe racial disparity in the criminal justice system.

District attorneys need to be advocates for change, but a range of dynamics contribute to DAs playing a very different role.

Encouraging public engagement with district attorneys and pushing for greater prosecutorial accountability will be decisive factors in solving the serious problems in our criminal justice system.

Download the full report.

Roadblocks to Reform

Tagged

DA ElectionsWhat Makes DAs So Powerful?

Share

Related Posts

A GUT CHECK FOR THE OREGON DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION

August 30, 2018

THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY BUDGET: DOLLARS, SENSE, AND REFORM

May 16, 2018

VIDEO: THE WASHINGTON COUNTY DA CANDIDATE FORUM

May 5, 2018

SHARING OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY CANDIDATE BRIEFING BOOK

April 15, 2018

Select Articles by Topic Tag

Criminal Justice Reform (2) DA Accountability (35) DA Accountability: Local (11) DA Elections (7) District Accountability (10) District Attorney: Local (21) District Attorneys (26) Ethics (1) Fiscal Responsibility (1) Justice (1) National News (5) Oregon News (11) Police Accountability (2) Press Releases (2) Racial Justice (4) Sentencing (2) Sentencing Minimums (1) War on Drugs (1) Wasted Tax Dollars (2) What Makes DAs So Powerful? (9) When DAs Break Laws (1) Who Holds DAs Accountable? (1) Why DAs Matter (3)

Recent Posts

  • ACLU OF OREGON CALLS ON LEGISLATURE TO PASS HB 3224, REQUIRING ALL DISTRICT ATTORNEYS TO CREATE WRITTEN POLICIES
    April 16, 2019 - 9:52 pm
  • ACLU: DA’s need policies to ensure fairness, accountability
    April 9, 2019 - 10:36 pm
  • Prosecutors Sometimes Behave Badly. Now They May Be Held to Account.
    April 5, 2019 - 10:34 pm
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Blog
  • The Most Powerful Elected Official You’ve Never Heard Of

CONTACT US

General Inquiries:
[email protected]

Mail:
ACLU of Oregon
PO Box 40585
Portland, OR, 97240

THEY REPORT TO YOU

A Campaign for District Attorney Accountability
Brought to you by ACLU of Oregon

We’re Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Log In

SEARCH

They Report to YOU Compact Logo

© 2023 They Report To You

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • ABOUT
  • GET THE FACTS
  • ISSUES
  • DA ELECTIONS
  • TAKE ACTION
  • RESOURCES
  • ABOUT
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
    • Why DAs Matter
  • GET THE FACTS
    • What Is a DA?
    • What Makes a DA So Powerful?
    • Who Holds DAs Accountable?
    • Who’s My DA?
    • FAQs
  • ISSUES
    • Police Accountability
    • Mandatory Minimums
  • DA ELECTIONS
    • How They Work
    • Roadblocks To Reform
    • The Governor’s Role
  • TAKE ACTION
    • Sign the Voter Pledge
    • Share Your Story
    • Request A Speaker
    • Contact Us
  • RESOURCES
    • Press Releases
    • Media Stories
    • Videos
    • Blog