Democrats Would Rather Become Republicans Than Make the Case for Justice Reform Jerry Iannelli Jun 22, 2022
Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022
Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022
A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022
After Years Locked up for Stealing Cold Medicine, Reginald Randolph Is Released But if he loses his appeal and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declines to grant him clemency, he will likely be sent back to prison. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 25, 2022
How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022
A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021
‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020
Resentencing Units Can Rectify, Rehabilitate, and Restore A concerted effort to review, resentence, and release is the right thing to do for those who have been unjustly sentenced. It is also the right thing to do for our community. George Gascón, Marilyn Mosby Dec 08, 2020
Law Enforcement Reformers Sweep Major Races In Los Angeles County Candidates promising to remake Southern California’s legal system, won major races for DA, county supervisor, and City Council, among others while overcoming significant spending by pro-law enforcement groups. Jerry Iannelli Nov 06, 2020
Michigan Lifers Are Organizing Their Families to Vote The Adolescent Redemption Project, a new group organized by Michigan prisoners sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, is advocating for progressive prosecutors. Marcia Brown Oct 22, 2020
Four Austin Women Reported Their Sexual Assaults. But Police And Prosecutors Failed To Hold The Perpetrators Accountable. While a debate over defunding the police rages in Austin, a new lawsuit reminds its residents that assault cases in the city are routinely ignored. Jerry Iannelli Oct 02, 2020
Missouri Attorney General’s Office Pushes To Keep Innocent People In Prison Its decades-long commitment to upholding convictions—even those marred by police or prosecutorial misconduct—has left Missourians languishing in prison for years. Emily Hoerner Sep 11, 2020
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 Aug 31, 2020
In Arizona, a County Attorney Candidate’s Past Seems To Contradict Her Pro-Reform Stance Julie Gunnigle, who is running in Maricopa County, says she supports alternatives to incarceration. But a decade ago in Illinois, she prosecuted a woman for recording phone calls and helped put her in jail for 18 months. Meg O'Connor Aug 03, 2020
Virtual Hearings Have Created A ‘Caste System’ In America’s Courts Precautions meant to minimize the spread of COVID-19—like remote hearings by video conferencing—have drastically changed the way people experience the judicial process, leaving some at a distinct disadvantage. Elizabeth Brico Jul 31, 2020
Mississippi Teen Who Has Languished In Jail For 17 Months Without An Indictment Is Just ‘One Of Thousands’ Sixteen-year-old William Haymon has spent more than 500 days in an adult jail in rural Lexington, Mississippi. There are no state rules governing how long a person can be incarcerated without being formally charged with a crime. Lauren Gill Jul 30, 2020
The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020
Racial Disparity Among Prosecutors and Trial Judges Translates to Unequal Justice, Activists Say Studies show that 95 percent of the nation’s prosecutors are white and that the lack of Black and brown representation in courts negatively affect outcomes for people of color. Dawn R. Wolfe Jul 24, 2020
Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020
The Suffolk County DA’s Attack On Public Defenders Was Misguided During a Boston radio show where Rachael Rollins accused defenders of harming Black and Brown communities, the DA demonstrated that she misunderstands the role that prosecutors play in the criminal legal system: caging those very people. Premal Dharia, Jullian Harris-Calvin May 22, 2020
Tennessee Set to Execute Intellectually Disabled Black Man In Killing of White Woman Even Though Innocence Questions Persist Attorneys say the prosecution’s theory of the murder case was ‘concocted out of whole cloth’ and based on ‘outdated racial stereotyping.’ Steven Hale Apr 29, 2020
Massachusetts Prosecutors Should Use Their Power To Dismiss Cases Now District attorneys in the state could decarcerate quickly by dropping unnecessary cases. Will Isenberg Apr 08, 2020
The Last Trial In California As the novel coronavirus spread in the state, a Solano County judge denied numerous motions to continue a troubled double kidnapping and rape case marred by allegations that a Vallejo police detective withheld exculpatory evidence. Brian Krans Apr 02, 2020
Fired Louisiana Prosecutor Had ‘Whites Only’ Sign in Property He Owned Jason Brown, who has worked in several parish DA's offices, was accused of using illegal tactics to win at least one case before arriving in Calcasieu Parish, where he was terminated over alleged dishonesty in a continuance motion. Now, The Appeal has learned that he had segregation-era signs in an art studio he owned. Jon Campbell Mar 26, 2020
Justice in America Episode 25: Conversation with Sherrilyn Ifill Josie Duffy Rice and guest co-host Darnell Moore talk with Sherrilyn Ifill about policing, civil rights, the criminal justice system, and more. Mar 25, 2020
Rikers Island Physician Voices Coronavirus Fears As Cuomo Meets With Officials Looking To Scuttle Bail Reforms Late Wednesday, the chief physician at the Rikers jail complex said on Twitter that judges and prosecutors must not leave New York City's jailed population ‘in harm’s way.’ Lauren Gill Mar 19, 2020
‘What Will It Take For You To Call This A Homicide?’ In California, a Vallejo detective and a Solano County prosecutor concealed exculpatory evidence from a man facing murder charges. They went on to face accusations of misconduct in other high-profile cases. Darwin BondGraham, Brian Krans Mar 11, 2020
Why Has Jackie Lacey’s Conviction Review Unit Exonerated So Few People? Critics say there may be systemic problems with how the unit is run within the Los Angeles County DA’s office. Jessica Pishko Feb 27, 2020
Alabama Prepares To Execute A Man Whose Case Is Haunted By Claims Of Police Misconduct Nathaniel Woods, who was convicted in connection with the deaths of three Birmingham police officers in 2004, is ‘100 percent innocent,’ the man who shot the officers told The Appeal. Lauren Gill Feb 24, 2020
Criminal Justice Group Drops Support For Pretrial Risk Assessment Tools As Ohio Justices Seek To Block Their Use Reform advocates say the risk assessments are racially biased and are not effective at their key tasks: predicting the likelihood someone will return to court. Dawn R. Wolfe Feb 12, 2020
As Bail Reform Takes Hold Across New York State, a Rural County Wrestles With The Future Of Its Aging Jail The debate around bail reform focused predominantly on New York City's Rikers Island, but the bigger impact may be upstate, where almost two-thirds of the state’s jail capacity is located. Ted Alcorn Feb 04, 2020
Joe Kennedy III Says He Is Running A Progressive Senate Campaign. But He Worked For One Of The Most Regressive D.A.s In Massachusetts In his run for president, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been forced to address his consulting past. Kennedy should do the same about his work. Will Isenberg Jan 31, 2020
Family Separation And ‘A Longer View Of Public Safety’: A Conversation With San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin Vaidya Gullapalli Jan 24, 2020
Arkansas Executed Ledell Lee. Posthumous Testing Will Most Likely Prove He Was Innocent, Lawsuit Says Lee’s family wants officials in Jacksonville, Arkansas, to turn over evidence that was used to convict and sentence him to death. The family says that evidence could posthumously exonerate him. Lauren Gill Jan 23, 2020
Illinois pardons are a reminder of the scale of marijuana arrests, past and present Vaidya Gullapalli Jan 03, 2020
Manhattan D.A. Suggests He Nudged The Governor To Fix A Loophole In New York Rape Law. It’s A Bit More Complicated. Cyrus Vance says he sent Governor Cuomo a letter about the issue in April 2018; Cuomo's office says it never got it. In the intervening months, critics say Vance's messaging on the issue discouraged survivors of rape from coming forward. Meg O'Connor Dec 23, 2019
How to Rethink Drug Dealing and Punishment Criminalizing those who sell drugs by enacting more punitive laws may lead to more dangerous drug use and will disproportionately affect communities of color, a new report suggests. Zachary A. Siegel Dec 17, 2019
After The Exoneration Of Three In Baltimore, Man Whose Wrongful Conviction Was Driven By Same Detective Seeks Justice Convicted in 1982 in a murder case in which exculpatory evidence was not shared with his attorneys, Wendell Griffin now calls on State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to clear his name. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 12, 2019
Harris County D.A. Candidate Audia Jones Says She Won’t Prosecute Sex Work The incumbent in the race, Jones’s former boss Kim Ogg, will not support a blanket refusal to prosecute sex workers, her office says. Kira Lerner Dec 11, 2019
Sexual Assault Survivors Who Want Restorative Justice Have Limited Options Alternative approaches to rehabilitation and healing still face resistance, even though the criminal legal system’s reliance on punishment has done little to move the needle on addressing sexual violence. Tyler Kingkade Dec 10, 2019
Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg Didn’t Deliver On Her Promise Of Reform. Now Another One Of Her Former Prosecutors Is Running Against Her. Carvana Cloud, until recently the chief of the Special Victims Bureau, is entering the race to unseat her former boss. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 05, 2019
Kamala Harris’s Criminal Justice Record Killed Her Presidential Run Harris’s record as a prosecutor was representative of a politics of the past. The nation has moved on. Lara Bazelon Dec 04, 2019
In a Louisiana Parish, Hundreds of Cases May Be Tainted By Sheriff’s Office Misconduct During the tenure of Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal, deputies assaulted and harassed men inside the parish jail. Several deputies were convicted in federal court, and now cases brought by the office are under renewed scrutiny. Joshua Vaughn Nov 25, 2019
Louisiana Prosecutors Push To Retain Nonunanimous Jury Verdicts In 2018, the state’s voters approved a constitutional amendment that requires unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases for crimes committed on or after Jan. 1, 2019. Now, the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of the nonunanimity rule—with prosecutors arguing that the U.S. Constitution does not require unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases. Joshua Vaughn Nov 15, 2019
Rep. Ayanna Pressley Unveils Sweeping Plan To Reshape American Criminal Legal System Under the proposal, localities would be incentivized to significantly decrease prison populations. Kira Lerner Nov 14, 2019
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 Nov 09, 2019
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 Nov 06, 2019
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 Nov 01, 2019
The Appeal Podcast: When Police Officers Double as Prosecutors With Appeal contributors Julia Rock and Harry August Adam H. Johnson Oct 31, 2019
New Orleans Public Defenders Punished For Locating Key Witness The attorneys said they did nothing wrong by finding a victim in a rape case who had disappeared, but a judge accused them of making her unavailable. Joshua Vaughn Oct 29, 2019
A California Sheriff And Prosecutor Want To Jail Homeless People. Their Plan Is Unlawful. Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood and District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer intend to openly defy a 1975 state Supreme Court precedent that says law enforcement cannot intentionally discriminate against a person or group of people. Kate Chatfield Oct 03, 2019
DNA Testing Could Save This Texas Man’s Life. But Prosecutors Are Opposing It. Rodney Reed, set to be executed on Nov. 20, is innocent of a rape and murder, his lawyers say, and untested evidence will prove it. But prosecutors have pushed back, arguing the evidence is contaminated. Lauren Gill Sep 26, 2019
This Louisiana Gulf War Veteran Is Serving Life For Selling $30 Worth Of Marijuana Derek Harris awaits arguments in the state Supreme Court about the sentencing, which one judge called ‘unconscionable.’ Aaron Morrison Sep 24, 2019
Why Juries Need Expert Help Assessing Jailhouse Informants Informants are highly motivated to lie. But jurors don’t always have the information or skills to discern the truth. Alexandra Natapoff Sep 23, 2019
A Trap Of Low-Level Drug Arrests And Court Debt In Pittsburgh In 2017, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala prosecuted more than 1,700 low-level drug possession cases. More than $2 million in court-imposed debt was levied on people who were charged in these cases. Joshua Vaughn Sep 18, 2019
When Prosecutors Bury Police Lies Court records and interviews with former prosecutors show that internal assessments of police dishonesty are rarely memorialized, potentially violating the rights of people charged in criminal cases and sometimes keeping the records of bad cops clean. George Joseph, Ali Winston Sep 17, 2019
Louisiana Prosecutors Use The ‘Habitual Offender’ Statute To Jail People For Life. Attorneys For Lifers Are Fighting Back. Henri Lyles is challenging his life sentence under a statute that penalizes people for prior convictions. A favorable decision by the state Supreme Court would mean that he and a dozen people sentenced to life could one day be freed. Aaron Morrison Sep 12, 2019
Harris County D.A. Seeks Execution of Intellectually Disabled Man, Lawyer Says Kim Ogg ran as a reform-minded district attorney candidate, but her office has sought two death warrants for Dexter Johnson, whose lawyer says cannot name everyday objects and has an IQ of 70. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 10, 2019
An Indiana Woman’s Long Fight for Justice In a rare move, a federal court vacated Anastazia Schmid’s murder conviction, saying she’d received ineffective assistance of counsel and had been mentally unfit to stand trial. But Schmid, who’d spent 18 years in prison, remained locked up for three months more. Victoria Law Sep 06, 2019
New York Law Removes ‘Unnecessary’ Step for Children Charged With Felonies 16-year-olds won’t have to reappear in adult criminal court if they’re arrested when youth court isn’t in session. Lauren Gill Sep 03, 2019
San Francisco Deserves Restorative Justice Our response to crime should focus on healing and accountability, not punishment and retribution. Chesa Boudin Aug 30, 2019
‘You Don’t Own Me’ At 16, Larry Rosser was imprisoned for killing a woman who sexually and physically abused him. He served 22 years in the California prison system before being released in 2017, after parole commissioners became convinced he was a rehabilitated victim. Aaron Morrison Aug 28, 2019
The Persistent History of Excluding Black Jurors in North Carolina A statewide pattern of discrimination in jury selection has gone largely uncorrected, while lives remain in the balance, advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 26, 2019
Sanders And Warren Just Released the Most Decarceral Criminal Justice Platforms Ever The 2020 presidential candidates recently unveiled national criminal justice agendas that reimagine public safety and punishment. Aaron Morrison Aug 23, 2019
An Alabama Man On Death Row Says He Is Innocent. Will He Get a New Trial? In 1998, prosecutors failed to tell the defense that a key witness in Toforest Johnson’s capital murder trial would receive thousands of dollars in reward money for her testimony, Johnson’s attorneys say. Now a Birmingham judge must decide whether their argument has merit. Lauren Gill Aug 22, 2019
In Queens D.A. Race, Criminal Justice Reform Is The Real Winner Establishment candidate Melinda Katz declared a narrow victory in the New York City borough’s district attorney primary, but progressive Tiffany Cabán pushed the race to the left on issues like marijuana and sex work. Aaron Morrison Jul 30, 2019
When Cops Lie, Should Prosecutors Rely Upon Their Testimony At Trial? In California, Texas and Florida, advocates sent letters to district attorneys, demanding that they refuse to work with officers with histories of misconduct. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jul 29, 2019
Pennsylvania Democrats Had a Chance to Reject Law Limiting Philly D.A.’s Authority Lawmakers say Republicans used deceptive tactics to pass the controversial bill. The legislative record tells a different story. Joshua Vaughn Jul 25, 2019
Spotlight: Cory Booker’s New Sentencing Reform Bill Is About Redemption Vaidya Gullapalli Jul 19, 2019
Media Frame: 5 Common Tactics Used to Discredit Reform D.A.s The backlash is underway against a recent wave of prosecutors who champion criminal justice reform. Here are some methods of attack. Adam H. Johnson
Law Enforcement Is Urged to ‘Think Like a Parent, Not a Prosecutor’ A new DA in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, is treating the overdose crisis as a criminal matter rather than a community health issue. Joshua Vaughn Jul 10, 2019
In Rare Motion, Atlanta’s D.A. Reversed Tough-On-Crime Stance The office of Paul Howard supported early release for a woman convicted of armed robbery. But a judge and advocates questioned the move since thousands of others don’t get that consideration. Aaron Morrison Jul 09, 2019
Spotlight: The Citizenship Question, the Supreme Court, and Who Deserves a Do-Over Sarah Lustbader Jun 28, 2019
Orange County’s ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ The California county has a thin blue line that appears to protect not just the police, but also the DA’s office, criminal justice advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jun 19, 2019
Spotlight: Prosecuting Lifesavers Exposes Deep Problems With Laws and Their Enforcement Sarah Lustbader Jun 11, 2019
Data Raises Questions About Harris County D.A.’s Push for More Lawyers Records show Kim Ogg’s office appeared to misrepresent felony prosecutor caseloads in its $21 million budget request. Keri Blakinger Jun 10, 2019
An Alabama Woman Got Pregnant While In Jail. She Has No Memory of Having Sex. Since 2017, LaToni Daniel has been incarcerated pretrial in a capital murder case. During that time, Daniel became pregnant, and she just delivered a baby boy. But as she brings in new life, she also faces the death penalty. Lauren Gill May 31, 2019
Scandal-Plagued Arizona Prosecutor Won’t Release Records, Lawsuit Alleges The ACLU of Arizona is suing Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s office over its alleged lack of transparency. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 22, 2019
Louisiana Bill Could Jail Defense Attorneys for Doing Their Jobs ‘The bill forces attorneys to choose between violating our ethical mandates or going to jail for following them.’ Kira Lerner May 10, 2019
Alabama Woman Faces Life Sentence For Killing Man Who Allegedly Raped Her In 2018, Brittany Smith killed a man who she said brutally raped her. Smith was charged with murder and she now faces life in prison as well as challenges getting adequate treatment at a state psychiatric hospital. Lauren Gill Apr 10, 2019
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 Jan 15, 2019
In 2018, Activists Transformed ‘Tough on Crime’ from Asset to Liability A series of electoral victories signals a nationwide shift. Daniel Nichanian Dec 24, 2018
Boston’s New D.A. Pushes Back Against Prosecutors’ ‘Punishment-centric’ Point of View Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins’s promise to decline to prosecute several offenses is a rejection of the punitive tradition of prosecutors and perhaps signals a new kind of reform that spurns criminal justice as a solution to public health problems. John Pfaff Nov 14, 2018
In Alabama, Black People Are 4 Times More Likely Than White People To Be Arrested For Marijuana Possession A new report details Alabama’s “War on Marijuana” ahead of a key DA election. George Joseph Oct 18, 2018
In One Pennsylvania County, Rape Victims Rarely Find Justice Since 2015, police in Adams County have taken dozens of reports of rape, yet charges were filed in just two cases. Joshua Vaughn Sep 25, 2018
Man Sentenced As ‘Career Criminal’ Gets His First Chance At Freedom In 48 Years Despite a 2015 Supreme Court ruling limiting the mandatory minimum law, few people are seeing relief. Levi Pulkkinen Sep 11, 2018
A New Power for Prosecutors is on the Horizon—Reducing Harsh Sentences Legislation in California would provide a direct route to resentencing, and a new tool for activists. Kyle C. Barry Sep 07, 2018
Justice In America Episode 7: The New Progressive Prosecutors? After Tuesday’s primary victories for reform candidates, defining a progressive agenda for prosecutors is more pressing than ever. Rashad Robinson joins Josie and Clint. Josie Duffy Rice, Clint Smith Sep 05, 2018
In Pennsylvania, Defendants Pay A Fee Just To Plead Guilty The ‘plea fee’ stems from a state law passed in the 1980s and can cost nearly $200, depending on the county. Joshua Vaughn Aug 29, 2018
Justice in America Episode 4: A Conversation With John Legend Josie and Clint talk with the artist about criminal justice reform and his #FREEAMERICA campaign. Josie Duffy Rice, Clint Smith Aug 15, 2018
The Appeal Podcast Episode 11: Prosecutors Team Up With Walmart to Crack Down on Petty Crime With journalist Jessica Pishko. Adam H. Johnson Aug 09, 2018
Justice in America Episode 3: Who Built Mass Incarceration? Prosecutors A podcast from The Appeal, featuring Josie Duffy Rice and Clint Smith. Josie Duffy Rice, Clint Smith Aug 08, 2018
St. Louis County Could Oust The Prosecutor Who Helped Ignite Ferguson Protests His opponent in Tuesday’s primary helped establish new police accountability and court reforms in Ferguson after the police shooting of Michael Brown. Amanda Sakuma Aug 06, 2018
Conservatives Are Obsessed With Prosecutorial Overreach Unfortunately for millions of Americans, only one case matters: Trump's. Josie Duffy Rice Jul 11, 2018
In Louisiana, Harsh Prosecutors Are Moving From Parish to Parish When Caddo voters booted their infamous district attorney, some of his toughest prosecutors found a home in Calcasieu. Josie Duffy Rice Jun 29, 2018
A Massachusetts District Attorney Tries To Crown His Successor In the Berkshire County DA race, the establishment is resorting to extreme measures to ensure it maintains power and avoids change. Eoin Higgins Jun 26, 2018
Louisiana’s Love Affair With Locking Up Kids For Life Years after two landmark Supreme Court rulings, prosecutors in Louisiana are still overwhelmingly seeking life sentences for children. Victoria Law Jun 13, 2018
Announcing The Appeal Podcast Our debut episodes feature Josie Duffy Rice on prosecutors and Melissa Gira Grant on criminalizing sex work. Adam H. Johnson May 31, 2018
The Appeal Podcast Episode 1: District Attorneys Are The Most Powerful People You’ve Never Heard Of With Josie Duffy Rice, senior staff reporter at The Appeal. Adam H. Johnson
In Louisiana, Threatening to File a Complaint Against Police Can Lead to a Five-Year Prison Sentence Michael Stein Apr 17, 2018
Anti-Online Trafficking Bills Advance in Congress, Despite Opposition from Survivors Themselves Melissa Gira Grant Mar 14, 2018
How a Case of ‘Restorative Justice’ Was Actually Just Business As Usual For the New Orleans DA Victoria Law Feb 09, 2018
13-Year-Old Charged with First-Degree Murder in Oklahoma Faces Life in Prison Raven Rakia Feb 07, 2018
Did Prosecutorial Misconduct Result in the Indictment of an African-American Louisiana Couple in a Federal Drug Case? Max Rivlin-Nadler Jan 30, 2018
California Ruling Could Give Accused Gang Members a Chance to Clear Their Names Maura Ewing Jan 24, 2018
Philadelphia Media Slam Newly Elected DA Krasner for Firings but House Cleaning Advances His Promise of Equal Justice Daniel Denvir Jan 16, 2018
Disrupting and Re-imagining the Role of Prosecutors: A New Focus on Re-entry and Rehabilitation Courtney Oliva Jan 05, 2018
Not in Vain: Our Failure to Curb Misconduct Undermines John Thompson’s Legacy Bidish Sarma Jan 03, 2018
How a Dallas District Attorney Reached Her ‘Nixon in China’ Moment Faith Johnson’s recent indictment of a Mesquite police officer for shooting an innocent man follows years of work by community activists. Rebecca McCray Dec 21, 2017
On Staten Island, a Lawsuit Claims Collaboration Between Judges and Prosecutors Max Rivlin-Nadler Dec 14, 2017
For Victims of Corrupt Chicago Police, An Unusual Taste of Justice Fifteen men had their tainted convictions vacated by State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office, but this isn’t the norm when it comes to prosecutors. Rebecca McCray Nov 29, 2017
Man Declared “Factually Innocent” of Murder is Granted a Full Pardon The pardon vote removes any “residual stain” on his record. Larry Hannan Nov 22, 2017
Ditching the Bondsman is Only Part of the Battle for Bail Reform The five states that have done away with commercial bond outlets still struggle with inequity when it comes to cash bail. Rebecca McCray
Is Mark Gonzalez The Reformer He Promised To Be? So far, the report card on the “Mexican Biker” prosecutor is mixed. Carimah Townes Nov 21, 2017
The arrest and charging of Karla Frye marks a pivotal moment for protest in St. Louis County Her case says a lot about prosecutorial discretion. Carimah Townes Sep 28, 2017
Las Vegas jury decides that a brutal murder does not justify the death penalty John Valerio shows that violent offenders can change. Carimah Townes Sep 25, 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions & the uncertain legal status of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Leah Litman Jul 27, 2017
TN court rules that prosecutor unconstitutionally excluded a black woman from jury Larry Hannan Jul 24, 2017
Bar complaint filed against former MA Assistant Attorneys General in lab scandal Jessica Brand Jul 21, 2017
Florida’s Attorney General fought to lock this lawyer up for representing his client Larry Hannan Jul 20, 2017
Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney has used forfeiture funds to help pay $2.2 million in no-bid contracts to friend and former colleague Larry Hannan
Marion County Attorney Ed Bull declines to turn a 14-year-old girl into a sex offender for “sexting” Carimah Townes Jul 18, 2017
Manhattan D.A. pledges to curtail prosecutions of subway fare jumpers, but it’s complicated Larry Hannan Jul 17, 2017
Multnomah D.A. quietly imposes significant policy change concerning police use-of-force investigations Rebecca McCray
Dallas prosecutor suspended after seeking “a break” from law enforcement during DWI arrest Larry Hannan Jul 13, 2017
Las Vegas area cops seizing millions of dollars from low-income people of color Carimah Townes Jul 11, 2017
Follow up: Gaston County D.A. accused of withholding evidence in murder case Jake Sussman Jul 06, 2017
California Supreme Court finds “discriminatory bias” in prosecution’s use of peremptory jury strikes Larry Hannan Jul 05, 2017
Dallas County prosecutors will not charge police in teenager’s tasing death Larry Hannan Jun 27, 2017
Longtime Miami prosecutor faces criticism after failing to prosecute corrections officers Larry Hannan Jun 14, 2017
