Daniel Nichanian

Amendment 2 would require unanimous jury verdicts, as in 48 other states

Voters could overhaul Florida’s regime of mass disenfranchisement.

Will Florida voters open the door to retroactively applying criminal justice reforms?

3 Maryland counties are in ICE’s 287(g) program. How many after November?

In This Edition of the Political Report October 11, 2018: Local officials wield great power over a county’s immigration policies. Many of their decisions escape widespread attention, but the organizing against ICE partnerships broke through in primaries this year, helping topple incumbent sheriffs in Milwaukee and in Charlotte, North Carolina. The scope of local immigration enforcement […]

Local officials wield great power over a county’s immigration policies. Many of their decisions escape widespread attention, but the organizing against ICE partnerships broke through in primaries this year, helping topple incumbent sheriffs in Milwaukee and in Charlotte. The scope of local immigration enforcement is now on the ballot in November. Below I profile 9 counties where the stakes […]

Wake County sheriff race struggles for media visibility, with 287(g) at stake

Will Orange County continue circumventing California’s ‘sanctuary state’ law?

California adopted a wave of criminal reform legislation on Sept. 2018. Some takeaways.

California reformed its “felony murder” rules, and also adopted two laws to make it easier to review past sentences.

In This Edition of the Political Report October 5, 2018: California: Three new laws provide thousands an opportunity to have old convictions vacated, expunged, or reduced California: (More) new laws limit prosecution of children, increase police transparency Maine: Portland DA candidates at odds on even basic reform steps New Mexico: Doña Ana sheriff race puts […]

This article is part of the Political Report’s coverage of criminal justice in the 2018 elections.

Portland district attorney candidates at odds on even basic reform steps.

Challenger to Seattle’s chief prosecutor suspends campaign

Can a candidate for prosecutor make Payne and Logan counties “a mecca for criminal justice reform?”

General election preview: Defeated in primary, Berkshire DA launches write-in bid Berkshire County District Attorney Paul Caccaviello lost the Sept. 4 Democratic primary against Andrea Harrington, a defense attorney. But he has since announced a write-in campaign to keep his position in November. He told The Intercept that a district attorney should not be a “product manufactured by a […]

In This Edition of the Political Report September 27, 2018: New Jersey: Bergen County sheriff resigns after racist remarks. What’s next? Massachusetts and New York: Incumbents lose Democratic primaries, continue reelection bids Oklahoma: Can a candidate for prosecutor make Payne and Logan counties “a mecca for criminal justice reform?” Washington: Challenger to Seattle’s chief prosecutor […]

Bergen County sheriff resigns after racist remarks. What’s next in New Jersey?  

Candidates disagree on the county’s cooperation with ICE and on the treatment of young defendants.

The Appeal: Political Report reviews the results of Rhode Island’s 2018 Democratic primaries. Rhode Island toughened drug sentencing this year, a move that then emerged as a factor in the state’s Democratic primaries. Dubbed Kristen’s Law, the new legislation created a penalty of up to life in prison for people who sell drugs that lead […]

In This Edition of the Political Report September 20, 2018: New York Democrats closed the primary season by rejecting a sheriff known for his aggressive practices and several senators who supported tougher sentencing. I explore what’s next in New York, and look into general elections in California and Maryland. New York: Alessandra Biaggi and Zellnor […]

 In Tulsa’s DA race, challenger wants to shift criminal justice conversation Daniel Nichanian Jenny Proehl-Day, the Democratic nominee for Tulsa County district attorney, begins answering an ACLU questionnaire by noting that she is a former prosecutor: “I contributed to the issue of mass incarceration and now I am trying to be a part of the solution,” she […]

Plymouth County DA faces former employee who assails his ethics and policies Daniel Nichanian Massachusetts’s Sept. 4 elections resolved three hotly disputed Democratic primaries for district attorney—and they also added a Democratic candidate where there was none: John Bradley received enough write-in votes in Plymouth County (south of Boston) to make it onto the ballot as the Democratic […]

Alessandra Biaggi and Zellnor Myrie explain the change they want to bring.

In challenging Larry Hogan, Ben Jealous details decarceration goals.

Election for Ulster County sheriff fought over over immigration, opoids.

Daniel Nichanian Delaware is a rare state that does not elect prosecutors, instead entrusting its attorney general to appoint them. This year’s incumbentless attorney general race is thus crucial for the state’s criminal justice system. In the Sept. 6 Democratic primary—the first contested primary in 20 years—the four candidates are Kathy Jennings, Chris Johnson, Tim […]

In This Edition of the Political Report September 13, 2018: Governor Jerry Brown must soon decide the fate of a series of criminal justice reforms that the California legislature adopted in August. I also review Delaware and Rhode Island’s primaries, and look ahead to general elections in Plymouth and Tulsa counties. Primary results: Kathleen Jennings […]

Daniel Nichanian On Sept. 5, the ACLU released 24 state-specific reports on mass incarceration, the product of a two-year partnership with the Urban Institute. Each report details what factors are driving mass incarceration in a given state. And each proposes a roadmap for how that state can reduce racial disparities and cut incarceration by 50 percent. […]

In This Edition of the Political Report September 6, 2018: Massachusetts Democrats chose to transform Berkshire and Suffolk counties’ approach to criminal justice issues, selecting candidates who ran for district attorney on ambitious reform agendas. Today I also profile upcoming elections in Delaware and New York—as well a new tool launched by the ACLU. Massachusetts: Transformative […]

Democrats select Rachael Rollins, who faces independent Mike Maloney in November Daniel Nichanian Boston voters selected Rachael Rollins as the Democratic nominee for district attorney of Suffolk County. In so doing, they shifted away from the record of outgoing DA Dan Conley, a Democrat who has resisted criminal justice reform. Rollins defeated Gregory Henning (the candidate endorsed […]

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s attitude on criminal justice has swung wildly in recent years. In 2016 he vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have strengthened New York’s public defense system, and he has rarely used his clemency powers. But this year Cuomo announced that he would restore the voting rights of tens of thousands of people by issuing pardons, and signed a bill establishing […]

In This Edition of the Political Report August 30, 2018: Massachusetts hosts three Democratic primaries for district attorney on Sept. 4 that all testify to the transformed tone of many prosecutorial elections. Each features candidates running on far-reaching reform platforms—raising the specter of concurrent candidacies splitting voters inclined to support reform—and each reshape the state’s […]

Middlesex County debates guidelines and data necessary to achieve reform Daniel Nichanian The district attorney of Middlesex County—the state’s most populous county, home to Lowell and Cambridge—is campaigning for re-election as a progressive who has already been reforming the county’s criminal justice system. Her opponent in the Sept. 4 Democratic primary rejects that characterization, questioning the […]

Punitive practices are at issue in the race to be prosecutor of Bennington County. Daniel Nichanian “Bennington Locks Up More People Than Any Other Vermont County,” Seven Days reported in 2016. Led by State’s Attorney Erica Marthage since 2006, county prosecutors have consistently “thrown the book” at defendants, this investigation documents. Marthage’s office charged a man with murder […]

Amira Fox secures GOP nomination for state attorney after sharply negative primary.

Primary preview: Gubernatorial candidates lay out platforms

In This Edition of the Political Report August 23, 2018: Florida heads to the polls on Aug. 28. Most of its sheriffs and prosecutors are only up in 2020, but these midterms could still reshape the Sunshine State’s criminal justice landscape. Today I preview a few of Florida’s upcoming elections—and I also delve into a […]

In This Edition of the Political Report August 16, 2018: Initiatives to legalize marijuana scored a big victory in Oklahoma in June and face their next test in Michigan in November. Today, I’ll explore these states’ marijuana debates, and I’ll also review significant recent elections in Minnesota, Missouri, Vermont, and Wisconsin: Aug. 14 primary results: […]

Recreational marijuana initiative headlines Michigan’s November ballot