Sarah Lustbader Sarah Lustbader Sarah Lustbader, senior legal counsel, was previously senior program associate at the Vera Institute of Justice and a criminal defense attorney at The Bronx Defenders. @SarahLustbader
One Rochester Cop’s Abuses Reveal A Culture of Police Impunity If Officer Matthew Drake had faced serious discipline for his misconduct, he might not have been on duty the night of Tyshon Jones’s death. Meg O'Connor Nov 23, 2021
One Thing Barr Gets right: The Sentencing Guidelines Are Indeed Too Harsh Sarah Lustbader Feb 18, 2020
Prosecutors Blame Discovery Reform Law For Overtime, Tax Hikes, And a Murder Sarah Lustbader Feb 11, 2020
The ‘Reasonable Person’ Looks A Lot Like Law Enforcement. Will That Change? Sarah Lustbader Jan 21, 2020
New Jersey Takes On Vestige Of Three-Fifths Clause: Prison Gerrymandering Sarah Lustbader Jan 16, 2020
Georgia To Execute A Man For A Crime That No Longer Gets The Death Penalty Sarah Lustbader Jan 15, 2020
More Hate Crime Laws Would Not Have Prevented The Monsey Hanukkah Attack Sarah Lustbader Jan 06, 2020
In Leaked Audio, Prosecutor Admits Locking People Up Is Not About Public Safety Sarah Lustbader Oct 31, 2019
Louisiana Prosecutors Try To Pull Cases From a Black Judge Who Criticized Discrimination Sarah Lustbader Oct 29, 2019
Julián Castro’s Criminal Justice plan: Long On Inspiration, Short On Specifics Sarah Lustbader Oct 28, 2019
Should Relapse Be Treated As A Crime? Massachusetts considers a bill that says no. Sarah Lustbader Oct 24, 2019
The Officer Who Arrested A 6-Year-Old Was Fired But Don’t Expect Much Change Sarah Lustbader Sep 24, 2019
Philadelphia’s Progressive D.A. Is Blamed For a Standoff He Helped Defuse Sarah Lustbader Aug 16, 2019
Putting Their Lives And Livelihoods On The Line To Protest Immigration Policy Sarah Lustbader Aug 13, 2019
The First Step Act freed people. Now prosecutors are trying to lock some of them up again. Sarah Lustbader Jul 30, 2019
The First Step Act Freed People. Now Prosecutors Are Trying To Lock Some Of Them Up Again. Sarah Lustbader
The federal government offered four arguments for reinstating the death penalty. They all fail. Sarah Lustbader Jul 26, 2019
Stevens’s views evolved over time. Scalia called it ‘arrogance,’ but it was the opposite. Sarah Lustbader Jul 18, 2019
Blue Bell listeria outbreak killed three people, but only the teenage prankster accused of licking a carton will face charges Sarah Lustbader Jul 16, 2019
What if Justice Roberts gave criminal defendants do-overs like he did for the Trump administration? Sarah Lustbader Jun 28, 2019
Free phone calls from San Francisco and NY jails demonstrate ‘status quo bias’ Sarah Lustbader Jun 25, 2019
Corrupt cops, lazy lawyers, and cowardly politicians: Kevin Cooper’s case exemplifies three and a half decades of systemic failures Sarah Lustbader Jun 20, 2019
In Alabama, departing sheriffs destroy property, deplete funds, and (usually) face no consequences Sarah Lustbader Jun 18, 2019
Spotlight: Departing Alabama Sheriffs Deplete Funds and (Usually) Face No Consequences Sarah Lustbader
Spotlight: De Blasio—The Circumstances of Layleen Polanco’s Death Shouldn’t Be So Perplexing Sarah Lustbader Jun 13, 2019
Bill de Blasio seems perplexed about circumstances that led to a trans woman’s death at Rikers Island. He shouldn’t be. Sarah Lustbader
When saving lives is illegal, something is wrong with the law. When humanitarians are prosecuted, something is wrong with law enforcement. Sarah Lustbader Jun 11, 2019
Spotlight: Prosecuting Lifesavers Exposes Deep Problems With Laws and Their Enforcement Sarah Lustbader
Spotlight: Incarcerated Women Helped Draft New York Law to Free Domestic Violence Survivors Sarah Lustbader Jun 06, 2019
Spotlight: Neighborhood Crime Apps Stoke Fears, Reinforce Racist Stereotypes, And Don’t Prevent Crime Sarah Lustbader Jun 04, 2019
Neighborhood crime apps stoke fears, reinforce racist stereotypes, and trick people into performing police surveillance Sarah Lustbader
Baltimore police union’s tweet tells cops to ‘protect each other’ and reminds them that some children are ‘criminals’ Sarah Lustbader May 28, 2019
In domestic violence cases, prosecutors seek a way around the Sixth Amendment Sarah Lustbader May 17, 2019
U.S. drug companies won’t help execute people, so the DOJ will allow prisons to buy from other countries Sarah Lustbader May 16, 2019
From ‘civil death’ to ‘civic bonds’: There is no (good) reason prisoners can’t vote Sarah Lustbader Apr 30, 2019
Joe Biden’s role in mass incarceration was no ‘mistake’: It was politics. Sarah Lustbader Apr 25, 2019
Good news: NYC prosecutors are keeping track of unreliable cops. Bad news: The list is secret. Sarah Lustbader Apr 23, 2019
Eradicating bias from jury selection is only half the battle: What if the jury pool is skewed? Sarah Lustbader Apr 18, 2019
Julián Castro’s Immigration Proposal Challenges Distinction Between ‘Deserving’ and ‘Undeserving’, a Little Sarah Lustbader Apr 04, 2019
Representation by Those Affected by the Criminal Legal System Is Increasingly Important Sarah Lustbader Apr 03, 2019
If you think the war on drugs is over, just look to the most recent drug task force corruption scandal Sarah Lustbader Apr 02, 2019
Candidates Can Pledge to Appoint Public Defenders to the Bench To Show They Are Serious about Mass Incarceration Sarah Lustbader Mar 23, 2019
Legal but Unspeakable Arkansas lawmaker wants to make it a felony to identify makers of its execution drugs. Sarah Lustbader Mar 07, 2019
Presidential Hopefuls Should Pledge to Roll Back Mass Incarceration Using Clemency Sarah Lustbader Feb 28, 2019
Amy Klobuchar Will Not Be a Criminal Justice Ally Until She Reckons with Her Past Sarah Lustbader Feb 14, 2019
Kamala Harris Was a Tough-on-Crime Prosecutor in a Black Lives Matter Era Sarah Lustbader Jan 22, 2019
Let Them Eat Steak: The Disgraceful Press Coverage of Holiday Meals in Federal Prisons Sarah Lustbader Jan 08, 2019
Should Public Agents Resist Injustice Within the Justice System? If Border Patrol agents should refuse to tear gas children at the border, should prosecutors, police, and judges not refuse some of their duties too? Sarah Lustbader Nov 30, 2018
Colorado Votes on Abolishing Its Clause Authorizing Slavery People laughed when Kanye called for abolishing the "trap door" in the 13th Amendment. Now Coloradans are voting on theirs. Sarah Lustbader Oct 24, 2018
Ohio’s Issue 1 Ballot Initiative Could ‘Deal a Blow’ to Mass Incarceration Sarah Lustbader Oct 18, 2018
Common Bails Out a Stranger What it’s like to take part in New York City’s Mass Bailout. Sarah Lustbader Oct 10, 2018
What Kavanaugh Could Learn About Criminal Justice From Yesterday’s Ordeal Sarah Lustbader Sep 28, 2018
Kavanaugh debate, on the left and the right, shows inability to see outside the criminal justice system Sarah Lustbader Sep 26, 2018
Boston DA Nominee Embraces Next Frontier of Criminal Justice Reforms: Declining Cases Many reform advocates believe that declining to prosecute cases is an effective way for prosecutors to shrink the system and break cycles of incarceration that disproportionately ensnare people of color. Sarah Lustbader Sep 14, 2018
