Debate Desk
Are Progressive Prosecutors Reformers Who Make Justice Fairer?
Prosecutors have wide discretion, and some who refuse whole categories of cases have faced recalls; discretion is not the same as ignoring the law.
The claim
A number of district attorneys elected in recent years promised to reduce incarceration, stop prosecuting low-level offenses and hold police accountable. They say discretion is the heart of the prosecutor's job, that old policies were unfair and that voters chose change.
The answer in three points
- Discretion is real and legitimate. No prosecutor can charge every offense, and a good one sets priorities and weighs mercy. What is not legitimate is a blanket refusal to enforce laws that the legislature has passed, announced in advance as a policy.
- A district attorney is an executive officer sworn to enforce the law. When one declines to charge a category of crime, the practical effect is to repeal the law in that county. Legislatures, not prosecutors, write the laws, and voters in a county are entitled to have the law applied.
- Voters can judge results, and they have. District attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles faced recall campaigns and defeat, and the people who live with the outcomes made their view known. Anyone can read a prosecutor's record before voting.
A prosecutor's job is to enforce the law fairly. Voters can check how well the office does it, and they should.
The numbers
- San Francisco voters recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin in June 2022, according to the San Francisco Department of Elections.
- California voters approved Proposition 36 in November 2024, restoring felony penalties for some repeat theft and drug offenses, according to the California Secretary of State.
- Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution charges the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, a principle that state constitutions apply to executive officers in states.
What they will say next
"Reform prosecutors reduce incarceration without raising crime." Studies vary, and the results differ by city and by policy. A claim of no effect on crime should be tested against the experience of residents and the records on repeat offenders.
"Zealous prosecutors have also caused injustice." They have, and the remedy for overcharging and misconduct is accountability and fair rules, not a policy of not prosecuting. Wrongful convictions are a reason to improve procedures.
"Voters elected them." They did, and voters also recalled several of them. An election is not a license to disregard the statutes the legislature has written.
"Resources are limited." They are, so a prosecutor should explain priorities openly and focus on violent and repeat offenders, which is a different thing from announcing that some crimes will never be charged.
Read your district attorney's record before you vote. It is one of the most consequential offices on your ballot.
"Prosecutors cannot pursue every case." That is why priorities are needed, and why the best offices state them openly and focus on violent and repeat offenders. A public policy not to prosecute whole categories is a different thing.