Prosecutors have one big reason to protect harsh sentencing: Today, around 95 percent of federal and state criminal cases end in a plea bargain. Such agreements, in which the defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a fixed sentence, avoid the time and expense of a jury trial, making it faster and cheaper for prosecutors to
Across America, some prosecutors—arguably with the authority of state and federal laws—are jailing innocent crime victims and witnesses, in hopes of insuring their testimony in court. In Washington State, a sexual-assault victim was arrested and jailed to secure her testimony against the alleged perpetrator. (He was found guilty of kidnapping, attempted rape, and assault with
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon just launched a major, multi-year campaign to reform our state’s criminal justice system. We want to improve the system so it is more fair, just and effective. But instead of focusing on police departments, sheriffs’ deputies or judges, we’re focusing on 36 individuals who most Oregon voters know
With district attorney elections coming up in Washington and Marion counties, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon has knocked on more than 15,000 doors in those areas, encouraging people to support prosecutors who shun “tough on crime” policies. But the new campaign, called They Report to You, is running into a problem: While the
Shortly after 4 pm on June 6, Circuit Judge Judith Matarazzo received an unusual visitor at her office in the Multnomah County Courthouse. An hour earlier, District Attorney Rod Underhill had called to request a meeting. The pair had met only a handful of times before. Matarazzo had a lot on her mind. She would
Until now, the political system and voters haven’t really held prosecutors accountable. About 95 percent of incumbent prosecutors won reelection, and 85 percent ran unopposed in general elections, according to data from nearly 1,000 elections between 1996 and 2006 analyzed by Ronald Wright of Wake Forest University School of Law. But prosecutors are enormously powerful