Chesa Boudin Looms Over the Race for the Oakland Area’s Next Prosecutor Pamela Price is running a progressive campaign to change the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in California. She’s winning. But her opponent, longtime prosecutor Terry Wiley, is trying to paint her as the next Chesa Boudin to score votes. Akintunde Ahmad
Brooke Jenkins Can’t Have It Both Ways The new San Francisco DA is mixing “tough-on-crime” rhetoric with phony progressivism. Neither will solve the city’s problems. Rachel Marshall
The Dishonest Blame Game of Retail Store Closures and Crime Reporters who parrot corporate claims of out-of-control theft play into a narrative that benefits big business and perpetuates carceral policies. Kyle C. Barry
D.A.s Are Asking Biden to End the Death Penalty. But Some Are Still Wielding It Themselves Prosecutors who have championed criminal justice reforms are still seeking death sentences, opposing appeals, and, in some cases, have even petitioned for execution dates. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Successes and Shortcomings of Larry Krasner’s Trailblazing First Term Philadelphia’s top prosecutor has made good on promises to reduce incarceration in the city. His re-election bid will be a litmus test for the progressive prosecutor movement he helped start. Joshua Vaughn
How Chesa Boudin Is Pursuing His Promise to Reduce Incarceration After more than a year in office—and despite pushback—the San Francisco DA’s policies have kept people out of jails and prisons. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
California Prosecutors’ Association Reveals More Public Money May Have Been Misspent New evidence suggests more accounting troubles for the CDAA. Jerry Iannelli
California’s D.A. Association Misspent $3 million. Environmental Groups Want it Repaid A coalition of environmental groups urges the legislature to force the repayment and dissociate from the CDAA. Jerry Iannelli
Newly Elected Los Angeles DA Will End Cash Bail in Nation’s Largest Prosecutor Office On his first day in office, George Gascón said prosecutors will not seek bail starting Jan. 1, a win for criminal justice reformers. Eliyahu Kamisher
Highway Stop-And-Frisk: How Pennsylvania State Troopers Conduct Illegal Traffic Searches A review of five years of cases that arose from traffic stops in the south-central region of the state shows that police used underhand tactics to justify holding and searching drivers illegally. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn
California D.A.s Call For Ban on Police Union Money and Endorsements in Prosecutorial Elections San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and others say the money creates ethical conflicts when police are prosecuted for misconduct. Eliyahu Kamisher
Jails and Prisons Must Reduce Their Populations Now We did it in San Francisco. If we are smart about how we respond to COVID-19 in the criminal legal system, then we can simultaneously tackle two crises. Cristine Soto DeBerry
Prosecutors Across U.S. Call for Action to Mitigate Spread of Coronavirus in Jails and Prisons In a joint statement, they emphasized the need to reduce the number of people currently incarcerated in order to contain the deadly COVID-19 virus. Jessica Pishko
Coronavirus Leaves Defense Attorneys Torn Between Visiting Their Jailed Clients And Spreading The Illness To prevent more people from being infected with COVID-19, defense attorneys are calling for courts to release people. Lauren Gill
San Francisco Officials Push to Reduce Jail Population to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak The public defender and district attorney both directed their staffs to keep individuals who are more vulnerable to the virus out of jail. Darwin BondGraham
San Francisco D.A. To Announce Sweeping Changes On Sentencing Policy and Police Stops As a candidate, Chesa Boudin condemned gang enhancements as racist. Now as DA he plans to significantly limit, if not eliminate, their use. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Family Separation And ‘A Longer View Of Public Safety’: A Conversation With San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin Vaidya Gullapalli
New San Francisco D.A. Inherits Chance To Hold Police Accountable In Shooting Of Man With Mental Illness Activists hope Chesa Boudin will press charges, and push for systemic changes to address the criminalization of mental illness. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Chesa Boudin Sworn In as San Francisco’s New District Attorney The former deputy public defender promised that his office would immediately end cash bail and stop seeking three-strikes sentencing enhancements. Jay Willis
Can A Prosecutor Be Progressive And Take Sex Crimes Seriously? The rise of progressive prosecutors and the #MeToo movement has meant an increased focus on sexual assault. But justice cannot be measured in more prosecution or long sentences. Marissa Hoechstetter
Public Defender Chesa Boudin Wins San Francisco D.A. Race In Major Victory For Progressive Prosecutor Movement Son of incarcerated parents, backed by Black Lives Matter co-founders, Boudin will be the next DA of San Francisco. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Deadlocked San Francisco District Attorney Race Shows Strength of Progressive Prosecutor Movement Chesa Boudin is just 240 votes behind Suzy Loftus, even after local law enforcement spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat him. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Who Gets To Proclaim The Progressive Prosecutor Mantle? Interim San Francisco D.A. Suzy Loftus claims to be a "progressive," but her long record as a prosecutor reveals an all-too-familiar path chosen by establishment-types who have little interest in disrupting the status quo. Patrisse Cullors
San Francisco Police Brutality Claim Puts Pressure on Next D.A. to Hold Cops Accountable Ahead of the city’s district attorney election on Tuesday, the alleged baton beating last month of Dacari Spiers has renewed debate over police accountability. Darwin BondGraham
Interim San Francisco D.A. Suzy Loftus is Running for Office as a Reformer. But Critics Say She Didn’t Do Enough to Reform the SFPD. Loftus led the San Francisco Police Commission through a bloody and turbulent era. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Appeal Podcast: Chesa Boudin And The Meaning of ‘Reform’ With Chesa Boudin, candidate for San Francisco district attorney Adam H. Johnson
San Francisco Deserves Restorative Justice Our response to crime should focus on healing and accountability, not punishment and retribution. Chesa Boudin
San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin Announces Run for District Attorney In a wide-ranging interview, Boudin, a progressive reform candidate, told The Appeal he wants to redefine ‘public safety’ to encompass the rights of both victims and defendants. Melissa Gira Grant