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Misdemeanor Decriminalization, Alexandra Natapoff
Misdemeanor Decriminalization, Alexandra Natapoff
Alexandra Natapoff
As the United States reconsiders its stance on mass incarceration, misdemeanor decriminalization has emerged as an increasingly popular reform. Seen as a potential cure for crowded jails and an overburdened defense bar, many states are eliminating jailtime for minor offenses such as marijuana possession and driving violations, replacing those crimes with so-called “nonjailable” or “fine-only” offenses. This form of reclassification is widely perceived as a way of saving millions of state dollars—nonjailable offenses do not trigger the right to counsel—while easing the punitive impact on defendants, and it has strong support from progressives and conservatives alike.
But decriminalization has a …
Gideon's Promise And Peril, Alexandra Natapoff
Gideon's Promise And Peril, Alexandra Natapoff
Alexandra Natapoff
The challenge of structural reform and the right to counsel in the misdemeanor system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESeGH0RoROs
Misdemeanors, Alexandra Natapoff
Misdemeanors, Alexandra Natapoff
Alexandra Natapoff
Misdemeanor convictions are typically dismissed as low-level events that do not deserve the attention or due process accorded to felonies. And yet with ten million petty cases filed every year, the vast majority of U.S. convictions are misdemeanors. In comparison to felony adjudication, misdemeanor processing is largely informal and deregulated, characterized by high-volume arrests, weak prosecutorial screening, an impoverished defense bar, and high plea rates. Together, these engines generate convictions in bulk, often without meaningful scrutiny of whether those convictions are supported by evidence. Indeed, innocent misdemeanants routinely plead guilty to get out of jail because they cannot afford bail. …