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Full-Text Articles in Law
A Fiduciary Theory Of Progressive Prosecution, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe
A Fiduciary Theory Of Progressive Prosecution, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe
Articles & Chapters
Progressive prosecutors differ from their more traditional counterparts primarily in the way in which they make decisions. They tend to bind their discretion by announcing categorical policies rather than making fact-based decisions case by case. This article catalogs the unusual degree of pushback progressive prosecutors have encountered from the public, legislatures, courts, police, and their own subordinate prosecutors. Drawing on fiduciary theory, it explains this reaction as a response to progressive prosecutors’ abdication of their fiduciary role. As a public fiduciary, prosecutors are entrusted with protecting the public’s abstract interest in justice, and an integral part of this role is …
Depoliticizing Federal Prosecution, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe
Depoliticizing Federal Prosecution, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe
Articles & Chapters
There is broad agreement that federal prosecutors should not use their power to pursue partisan political objectives, but there is stark disagreement about how to prevent them from abusing their power in this way. Geoffrey Berman, a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, recently argued that U.S. Attorneys should have complete autonomy and independence from the Attorney General and administration. Attorney General Bill Barr, in contrast, has insisted that Attorneys General should have full control over prosecutors so the administration can be held politically accountable. Neither view fully addresses the problem. Barr minimizes the significant …
Prosecutorial Nonenforcement And Residual Criminalization, Justin Murray
Prosecutorial Nonenforcement And Residual Criminalization, Justin Murray
Articles & Chapters
In recent years a small but influential group of locally elected prosecutors committed to criminal justice reform have openly refused to enforce various criminal laws—laws prohibiting marijuana possession, sentence enhancements, laws authorizing the death penalty, and much more—because they see those laws as unjust and incompatible with core reform objectives. Condemned by many on the political right for allegedly usurping the legislature’s lawmaking role and praised by many on the left for bypassing dysfunctional state legislatures in favor of local solutions, these prosecutorial nonenforcement policies are commonly said to have the same effect as nullifying, or even repealing, the laws …
Prosecutorial Nonenforcement And Residual Criminalization, Justin Murray
Prosecutorial Nonenforcement And Residual Criminalization, Justin Murray
Articles & Chapters
In recent years a small but influential group of locally elected prosecutors committed to criminal justice reform have openly refused to enforce various criminal laws—laws prohibiting marijuana possession, sentence enhancements, laws authorizing the death penalty, and much more—because they see those laws as unjust and incompatible with core reform objectives. Condemned by many on the political right for allegedly usurping the legislature’s lawmaking role and praised by many on the left for bypassing dysfunctional state legislatures in favor of local solutions, these prosecutorial nonenforcement policies are commonly said to have the same effect as nullifying, or even repealing, the laws …
Can The President Control The Department Of Justice?, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe
Can The President Control The Department Of Justice?, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe
Articles & Chapters
As the investigation into President Trump's campaign ties to Russia grows increasingly intense, it is critical to understand how much control the President has over the Attorney General and the Department of Justice. Some critics claim that the President has absolute power to direct federal prosecutors and control their decisions. The President and his lawyers, joined by several scholars, take this claim one step further by arguing that the chief executive could not be guilty of obstruction of justice because his control over all prosecutorial decisions is absolute. This issue last arose during the Nixon Administration. The Department of Justice …
May Federal Prosecutors Take Direction From The President?, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe
May Federal Prosecutors Take Direction From The President?, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe
Articles & Chapters
Suppose the president sought to serve as prosecutor-in-chief telling prosecutors when to initiate or dismiss criminal charges in individual cases and making other discretionary decisions that are normally reserved to trained professionals familiar with the facts, law, and traditions of the U.S. Department of Justice. To what extent may prosecutors follow the president's direction? In recent presidential administrations, the president has respected prosecutorial independence; while making policy decisions, the president deferred to the Attorney General and subordinate federal prosecutors to conduct individual criminal cases. In a recent article, we argued that this is as it should be because the president …
The Duty To Charge In Police Use Of Excessive Force Cases, Rebecca Roiphe
The Duty To Charge In Police Use Of Excessive Force Cases, Rebecca Roiphe
Articles & Chapters
Responding to the problems of mass incarceration, racial disparities in justice, and wrongful convictions, scholars have focused on prosecutorial overcharging. They have, however, neglected to address undercharging the failure to charge in entire classes of cases. Undercharging can similarly undermine theefficacy and legitimacy of the criminal justice system. While few have focused on this question in thedomestic criminal law context, international law scholars have long recognized the social and structural cost for nascent democratic states when they fail to charge those responsible for the prior regime’s human rights abuses. This sort of impunity threatens the rule of law and misses …
Can Prosecutors Be Both Coach And Referee?, Rebecca Roiphe
Can Prosecutors Be Both Coach And Referee?, Rebecca Roiphe
Articles & Chapters
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