News / FJP Releases

October 29, 2026

FJP Urges Supreme Court to Confront Prosecutorial Misconduct and Gender Bias in Death Penalty Case

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the conviction and death sentence of Brenda Andrew. The brief argues that prosecutors abandoned their fundamental duty to seek justice by relying on inflammatory gender stereotypes and prejudicial evidence throughout her trial. Rather than focusing on the evidence and the law, prosecutors encouraged jurors to judge Andrew for failing to conform to regressive and misogynist expectations of how a woman, wife, and mother should behave.

“Prosecutors cannot fulfill their duty to seek justice and hold people accountable without first holding themselves to the highest standards of fairness and integrity,” said Fair and Just Prosecution Executive Director Aramis N. Donell. “That means following the evidence, upholding the Constitution, and respecting the rights of every person who enters a courtroom. This responsibility is especially critical when a person’s life is at stake. When prosecutors substitute stereotypes and prejudice for evidence, they betray the public’s trust and undermine the very foundation of our justice system.”

October 21, 2026

FJP Urges Federal Appeals Court to Uphold Constitutional Limits on Immigration Enforcement

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), alongside the Cato Institute and Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), filed an amicus brief in Escobar Molina v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to uphold a preliminary injunction limiting warrantless immigration arrests in Washington, D.C.

Federal immigration agents have stopped and arrested people without either a warrant or probable cause as required by law, and these unconstitutional arrests have been based solely on perceived race, ethnicity or appearance. The amici warn that these practices not only violate constitutional protections but also erode public trust in law enforcement. The amici also caution that immigration enforcement priorities are diverting critical resources away from investigating serious crimes.

“Law enforcement has a fundamental responsibility to uphold the Constitution, protect the rights and safety of every person, and ensure that justice is administered fairly,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis N. Donell. “That responsibility cannot be set aside in pursuit of arbitrary enforcement goals. Stopping or arresting people based on the color of their skin rather than probable cause that they have committed a crime violates the constitutional protections that safeguard us all. Furthermore, diverting officers from serious criminal investigations to carry out low-level immigration arrests also comes at a real cost to public safety. Victims deserve justice, communities deserve protection, and both must remain at the center of law enforcement’s priorities.”

October 7, 2026

FJP Urges Supreme Court to Review Death Sentence After Defense Lawyer Slept Through Trial

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), alongside a group of former state and federal judges and prosecutors, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case of a Texas man sentenced to death after his lead defense attorney repeatedly fell asleep during critical portions of his trial.

In Alvarez v. Guerrero, Juan Carlos Alvarez’s lead attorney repeatedly slept during both the guilt and penalty phases of his capital trial, missing witness testimony and at one point requiring the judge to wake him when it was time to question a witness. Although another defense attorney was present, a local rule enforced by the trial court prevented that second attorney from stepping in to question witnesses or object during portions of the case assigned to lead counsel. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit nevertheless allowed Mr. Alvarez’s conviction and death sentence to stand.

“Prosecutors have a responsibility not only to pursue justice in the courtroom, but also to recognize when a conviction was reached through a process that fell short of our constitutional standards,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis N. Donell. “Everyone in a courtroom has a role to play, and justice depends on each of us being fully present and fulfilling that responsibility. A defense attorney sleeping through any part of a trial is a serious failure, and when someone’s life is at stake, we cannot simply look past it because a conviction was secured. A prosecutor’s obligation to pursue justice means that we must not only care about the outcome, but also about how we got there.”

October 2, 2026

FJP and LEAP Warn Immigration Enforcement in Houses of Worship Threatens Community Trust and Public Safety

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), joined by the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to affirm a preliminary injunction in New England Synod v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The brief argues that the federal government’s elimination of longstanding protections against civil immigration enforcement at or near houses of worship and other sensitive locations threatens public safety by eroding trust in law enforcement and weakening civic institutions that help keep communities safe.

“Prosecutors have an important role in protecting public safety, and they cannot do that work effectively if victims, witnesses, and community members are afraid to come forward,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis N. Donell. “When people fear that going to a house of worship or turning to other community institutions could expose them or their loved ones to detention, family separation, or other immigration consequences, that fear can spread even to people who are not lawfully subject to immigration enforcement. The result is less trust, less cooperation, and communities that are less safe.”

September 17, 2026

Statement from FJP Executive Director Aramis Donell on Congressional Subpoenas of Local Prosecutors

 In the latest escalation of congressional efforts to insert federal political pressure into decisions traditionally made by locally elected prosecutors, the House Judiciary Committee has issued new subpoenas seeking information about local charging and plea decisions. The subpoenas follow months of congressional demands and investigations directed at prosecutors across the country regarding how they exercise their legal authority in their own jurisdictions. In response, Fair and Just Prosecution Executive Director Aramis Donell issued the following statement:

“Decisions about what charges to bring, what plea agreements to offer, and what sentences to seek should never be driven by political pressure or threats from officials who do not answer to the people in that community. Elected prosecutors alone are entrusted with making those decisions, and with that authority comes a responsibility to exercise their own judgment based on the Constitution, the law, the facts of each case, and what will best protect the communities they serve. Exercising that judgment is not optional. It is fundamental to the job.”