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 Key to Reform

The Atlantic
  • Media Story
The Key to Reform<br><h6>The Atlantic</h6>

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 Power dynamics are unbalanced, sentencing guidelines are outdated, and old-fashioned human biases persist.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 agents in a justice system roiling in turmoil—have been facing growing criticism and public distrust for some time, and that disapproval is about to hit a tipping point. It’s time to curtail the power long held by these officers of the court as they promote justice, ensure fairness, and enhance public safety.

In all but four states, prosecutors are elected to office—about 2,400 of them—and many largely run unopposed in counties with strong political-party identification, places where politics are so ingrained that decisions are made well ahead of the voting booth. Party loyalty, tough-on-crime promises, or just electoral indifference—can result in prosecutors who amass and wield enormous amounts of power in the courtroom and beyond. And where there’s unchecked power, there’s often corruption, particularly in high-profile cases. In some instances, entire districts have been tainted by a reputation earned during a particularly bold district attorney’s tenure. These and other regional struggles between justice and authority have developed over decades of individual and cumulative legal acts in thousands of cities and districts…

Read More (Offsite)

Tagged

National NewsWhy DAs Matter

Share

Related Posts

ACLU: DA’s need policies to ensure fairness, accountability

April 9, 2019

Prosecutors Sometimes Behave Badly. Now They May Be Held to Account.

April 5, 2019

Opinion: Time to raise the bar for district attorneys

April 3, 2019

ACLU calls for DAs to make policies public

April 2, 2019

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
  • Media Story
  • The Key to Reform
    The Atlantic

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

© 2022 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