Election law isn’t just a voting rights issue – it’s also a public safety issue
NOV. 7, 2022 – In Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court will consider a little-known legal concept called the “independent state legislature theory” (ISLT) that, if adopted, would fracture the system of checks and balances at the heart of American democracy by allowing state legislatures to have unlimited and unrestrained authority over regulating federal elections and drawing congressional maps. In an op-ed in USA Today, Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky explain why all of us should be alarmed by the harmful impact a SCOTUS decision legitimizing ISLT could have on the integrity of judicial review and law enforcement’s ability to keep communities safe.
“A Supreme Court decision legitimizing [ISLT] could destroy public trust in the legitimacy of the judiciary and electoral systems, which isn’t just a voting rights issue – it’s a public safety issue.”
Wrongful convictions cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Wrongdoing prosecutors must be held accountable.
OCT. 14, 2022 – Nearly a decade after Adnan Syed’s case gained notoriety on the podcast Serial, prosecutors in Baltimore announced that they were dropping all charges against him, after examining critical exculpatory evidence never disclosed during his initial trial. In the wake of this long overdue correction of a past injustice, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and Communications Director Alyssa Kress discuss in an op-ed in MarketWatch the larger problem across the country with prosecutorial misconduct that leads to wrongful convictions, and the obligation of elected prosecutors to address and learn from the mistakes of the past so that the same errors do not play out time and time again.
“The power to take away another person’s freedom is an immense responsibility. With that responsibility comes the imperative to correct and learn from past mistakes, with due recognition of the devastating consequences when these ideals are not met.”
Gavin Newsom’s veto of California safe injection sites sacrifices lives to politics
SEPT. 7, 2022 – California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland to operate overdose prevention sites – legally-sanctioned spaces where people can consume self-supplied drugs under the supervision of staff trained to respond in the event of an overdose. In an op-ed in The Sacramento Bee, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and Research & Policy Associate Reeve Jacobus explain why policymakers like Governor Newsom are putting politics above people’s lives by ignoring extensive research showing the life-saving benefits of OPSs.
“While opponents argue that overdose prevention sites perpetuate drug use, the opposite is true. These sites connect users to community-based treatment and are associated with an increase in those seeking treatment. And they don’t lead to more crime in surrounding areas.”
DeSantis’ suspension of duly elected prosecutor Andrew Warren undermines the democratic process
AUG. 23, 2022 – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s recent suspension of State Attorney Andrew Warren is a dangerous intrusion on prosecutorial discretion and the will of the voters who have twice embraced SA Warren’s reform agenda. In an op-ed in The Crime Report, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky argues that we should applaud transparency from prosecutors who are promoting both justice and safety by using their limited resources to prioritize serious crimes.
“By making clear his priorities in ensuring the safety and well-being of his community, Warren was doing exactly what the voters of his community had elected him to do; he was fulfilling his sworn and ethical obligation to pursue justice.”
Courts have ruled that sentencing kids to die in prison is cruel and unusual. Now they’re reconsidering when adulthood starts.
AUG. 19, 2022 – A few court decisions in recent years have recognized that many of the justifications for treating juveniles differently than adults in the criminal legal system should also apply to “emerging adults” in their late teens and early-to-mid twenties. At this age, their brains are still developing, making them more impulsive and susceptible to peer pressure but also more likely to grow and change. In a Marketwatch op-ed, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and Research and Policy Associate Rebecca Blair explain why it’s essential that our justice system reconsider when adulthood starts.
“We can acknowledge that violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum, that holding individuals accountable doesn’t mean ignoring the factors that influenced their actions. We can recognize that young people grow up and decide to care who they become.”