Political Report

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?

Case seemed to many like a second chance at McCleskey v. Kemp, a U.S. Supreme Court case that severely restricted the ability for minority plaintiffs to succeed on equal protection claims.

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

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.

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 […]

Watch and read Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke debate policing in Texas In a Sept. 21 debate, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and his Democratic challenger Representative Beto O’Rourke were asked about Amber Guyger, the Dallas police officer who killed Botham Jean in his own apartment. Cruz promptly attacked O’Rourke for disrespecting police officers. “I think it […]

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

Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Beto O’Rourke debate on September 21st featured a lengthy exchange on policing and protests. Watch the relevant footage–or read our transcript below.   Transcript Gromer Jeffers: Senator Cruz, this question is for you. This month in Dallas officer Amber Guyger shot Botham John, a Black man, in his own apartment. […]

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 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.

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.

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis divided on criminal justice reform

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.

Flagler County expanded its county jail in July 2016, more than tripling the number of people it could detain. Later that year, the county elected a new sheriff—Rick Staly—who has since boasted about the record number of individuals in the jail and about the poor conditions therein. Staly has unveiled signs labeling the jail the “Green Roof […]

Primary preview: Gubernatorial candidates lay out platforms

But prospect of a vote on recreational marijuana unexpectedly fades. This article is part of the Political Report’s coverage of criminal justice in the 2018 elections. In a June 26 referendum, Oklahomans approved Question 788, which legalizes the medical use of marijuana, 57 percent to 43 percent. This expansive measure enables doctors to license the use […]

Recreational marijuana initiative headlines Michigan’s November ballot 

Daniel Nichanian Eyes were glued on St. Louis County on Aug. 7, but another Missouri prosecutor was also ousted that same night. Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Richardson was seeking a fourth term, but he lost in the Republican primary to Assistant State Attorney General Locke Thompson. Cole County includes the state capital Jefferson City, […]

Reprimanded by state Supreme Court, prosecutor heads toward re-election Daniel Nichanian Platte County’s longtime prosecuting attorney Eric Zahnd was disciplined this year, just months before he is to face voters in this county north of Kansas City. In 2015, Zahnd oversaw the prosecution of a man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child. At […]