By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. AUG. 9, 2017 For years, beginning in the 1990s, aggressive enforcement of minor offenses, like riding a bike on a sidewalk or drinking in public, was a fundamental part of policing in New York. But one of the lasting consequences of that enforcement has become a major policy dilemma, as
By EMILY BAZELON AUG. 1, 2017 Noura Jackson called 911 at 5 a.m. on Sunday, June 5, 2005. ‘‘Please, I need, I need an ambulance, I need an ambulance right now!’’ she cried. ‘‘Someone broke into my house. My mom — my mom is bleeding.’’ She panted as she waited a few long seconds for
By VIVIAN YEE JULY 31, 2017 The drunken-driving case seemed straightforward, the kind that prosecutors in Seattle convert into a quick guilty plea hundreds of times a year: a swerving car, a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, a first-time offense that caused no injuries. The only complication was the driver. A 23-year-old
Lock ’Em Up? Prosecutors Who Say ‘Not So Fast’ Face a Backlash Nytimes Frances Robles ORLANDO, Fla. — In Tampa, the top prosecutor says too many children are charged as adults. In Houston, the district attorney will no longer press charges in low-level marijuana cases. And in Chicago, prosecutors will no longer oppose the release of
Are Prosecutors the Key to Justice Reform? Given their autonomy—only if they want to be. The Atlantic Juleyka Lantigua-Williams A consensus is building around the need to seriously rethink the role of the prosecutor in the administration of justice. Power dynamics are unbalanced, sentencing guidelines are outdated, and old-fashioned human biases persist. And prosecutors—singularly independent