Speaking Out
H.R. 9495 Threatens Democracy and Civil Society
DECEMBER 16, 2024 – The threat of government retaliation against nonprofits is no longer hypothetical. In an opinion piece, Fair and Just Prosecution Acting Co-Executive Director Amy Fettig explains how the recently passed H.R. 9495 cloaks an assault on democracy in counterterrorism rhetoric. If enacted, this bill would empower the Treasury Department to unilaterally label nonprofits as “terrorist-supporting” organizations without requiring clear evidence or due process. Nonprofits, from grassroots advocacy groups to media organizations, could be silenced, stripped of their status, and financially devastated—all based on vague accusations or secret information.
“The consequences for civil society could be devastating. Under H.R. 9495, fear of government retaliation could lead organizations to self-censor, avoiding important work to protect themselves from reputational damage and financial ruin. This chilling effect would weaken civil society, limiting the freedom of dissent and political advocacy when those rights are needed most.”
The Quiet Epidemic of Predators in Uniforms
JULY 23, 2024 – Child sex abuse by police officers is depressingly common in communities across the United States, but police officers who commit abuse rarely face true accountability. In an op-ed in Slate, Arlington County & City of Falls Church Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and Strategies for Youth Executive Director Lisa Thurau explain that elected prosecutors have a duty to protect children and ensure justice for survivors. To do so, elected prosecutors across the US and law enforcement leaders should advocate for empowered and fully resourced civilian oversight boards; zero-tolerance policies and practices toward predatory officers and those who fail to report them; investigations of problem officers by a different department than the employing agency; and a national database capable of tracking and blocking these officers from future careers in other law enforcement agencies.
“A series of recent groundbreaking investigative reports unveiled what many advocates for police accountability have known for decades: child sex abuse by law enforcement officials is far too common across our country. Systemic failures within policing – coupled with lax oversight by police departments, prosecutors, and judges – too often shield police officers from meaningful accountability.”
What’s wrong with the jury selection process
JUNE 15, 2024 – Peremptory challenges allow parties in a legal case to remove potential jurors before trial for any reason other than a person’s race, religion, ethnicity, or gender – but recent evidence uncovered by Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price underscores that prosecutors across the country have routinely engaged in discrimination against people of color, thereby undermining the integrity of our justice system. In this CNN piece, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund Deputy Director of Litigation Chris Kemmitt and Assistant Counsel Adam Murphy explain the racist history of peremptory strikes and call for prosecutors to stop using them.
“Patterns of racial bias in jury selection are deeply rooted in the American legal system. Prosecutors routinely exploit peremptory challenges to exclude Black individuals, distorting the composition of juries and undermining the fairness of our legal system.”
Reckoning with the past is the only way to achieve a just society
MAY 3, 2024 – As ministers of justice for their communities, elected prosecutors wield incredible power to shape the lives of the people they serve – for better or worse. In the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Magazine, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky discuss the growing threats to democracy in our nation and around the globe, and explain why criminal justice leaders have a duty to reckon with past abuses of power and dedicate their work to defending the most vulnerable among us.
“Legal systems around the world have been complicit in some of the worst atrocities in human history, from slavery and Jim Crow in the United States to the mass genocide of the Holocaust in Europe. As a current elected prosecutor and a former federal prosecutor…we know firsthand how critical it is for every elected official to publicly recognize and address past injustices, while also combating new attempts to foster hate.”
The Supreme Court must reject incarceration as a response to homelessness
APRIL 22, 2024 – The U.S. Supreme Court is considering Grants Pass v. Johnson, a monumental case that will determine whether state and local leaders can arrest people simply for living outside even when adequate shelter is not available. In Salon, former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, former Albany, NY Police Chief Brendan Cox, and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky explain why this misguided approach to homelessness will further devastate local communities, drain valuable public resources, and exacerbate underlying challenges.
“These are not easy issues and consensus solutions have yet to take hold nationwide. Yet we should be able to agree that punishing and incarcerating unhoused people will not address the root causes of the housing crisis or improve public safety – it’s simply a way (at best) to make homelessness less visible. Moreover, this approach may actually exacerbate the very problem these local leaders claim to want to address.”
The 11th Circuit’s block of Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE’ Act is good for public safety
APRIL 19, 2024 – Florida’s so-called “Stop W.O.K.E. Act” threatens to restrict the educational opportunities of law enforcement officers statewide by regulating workplace training related to race and gender. If allowed to become law, the legislation would erode community trust in government institutions – particularly among communities of color – and thereby undermine public safety. In an op-ed in Law360, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and Law Enforcement Action Partnership Executive Director Diane Goldstein explain the importance of diversity training for police departments and why we must reject attempts to limit honest discussions of race.
“It is not discrimination to learn about cultures different from your own or to understand how your own lived experiences affect how you see the world, including in ways that may be challenging or uncomfortable to consider…. [I]t’s especially essential when you are a law enforcement officer entrusted with making split-second decisions that can end someone’s life.”