News / FJP Releases

December 12, 2025

Fair and Just Prosecution Joins Leading Legal Organizations in Urging Supreme Court to Protect Appellate Review of Unconstitutional Sentences

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), together with the Cato Institute, Civil Rights Corps, American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and the Rutherford Institute, filed an amicus brief in Munson P. Hunter III v. United States, calling on the United States Supreme Court to ensure that plea agreements do not prevent people from appealing unconstitutional sentences. The brief urges the Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit ruling that enforced an appeal waiver even after the sentencing judge expressly advised the defendant that he had a right to appeal and the government raised no objection.

“No one should ever be left serving an unlawful sentence with no path to appellate review,” said Fair and Just Prosecution Executive Director Aramis Ayala. “Plea agreements are not ordinary contracts. They are negotiated in conditions shaped by coercion, power imbalances, and limited information. When prosecutors use appeal waivers to block review of unconstitutional sentences, they undermine fairness, weaken due process, and erode trust in the justice system. Every community has an interest in a plea bargaining process that is transparent, accountable, and never shields illegal sentences from scrutiny.”

December 11, 2025

Fair and Just Prosecution Releases Issue Brief Highlighting Prosecutors’ Role in Supporting Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs

Fair and Just Prosecution today released a comprehensive issue brief detailing how Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs (HVIPs) can reduce community violence and what prosecutors can do to support their success. The new publication explains how these programs improve long-term health and safety outcomes for survivors of violence and offers prosecutors clear guidance on developing policies that protect patients’ rights, limit harmful law enforcement practices in hospitals, and promote a public health approach to violence reduction.

Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs provide trauma-informed, wraparound services to people recovering from violent injury. These programs help victims stabilize, reduce the likelihood of reinjury, and interrupt cycles of retaliation. Yet their effectiveness can be compromised when aggressive or unnecessary police activity in emergency departments disrupts medical care, violates privacy, or erodes trust in healthcare providers.

“Violence intervention programs save lives, strengthen community trust, and offer people a path toward healing,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis Ayala. “Prosecutors have a vital role to play in helping these programs succeed by ensuring that policing inside hospitals respects patients’ rights and supports the trauma-informed services essential to breaking cycles of violence.”

November 24, 2025

Judge’s Ruling in AG Letitia James Case Protects the Rule of Law, Exposes Deeply Unjust Process

The dismissal of the case against New York Attorney General Letitia James is a clear affirmation of the rule of law and a rejection of efforts to use the justice system for political purposes. The court found that the prosecutor was unlawfully appointed, rendering the indictment unconstitutional. Career prosecutors had already reviewed the evidence and declined to bring charges because the case lacked merit, only to be replaced when they refused to abandon their professional judgment. Today’s ruling confirms the concerns raised by legal experts across the political spectrum and exposes the retaliatory nature of this prosecution.

Fair and Just Prosecution’s Executive Director Aramis Ayala had the following statement:

“Today’s dismissal is the correct outcome, but a fair outcome cannot erase the injustice of an unfair process. The case against Attorney General James grew out of retaliation and was advanced through an unlawful appointment. A fair judicial system demands more than the right ending. It requires a process that is lawful, ethical, and free from political interference at every step. That is why prosecutors must follow the facts, uphold the Constitution, and serve with integrity. By throwing out this unlawful indictment, the court sent a clear message that political retaliation has no place in our justice system. Correcting this harm is essential, but preventing the next one is equally urgent.”

November 6, 2025

New FJP Issue Brief Arms Prosecutors and Policymakers with Facts to Counter Fentanyl Myths and Fear-Based Policies

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) today released a new issue brief, Correcting the Record: Fentanyl Myths and Misinformation, which confronts the growing wave of falsehoods and fear-based narratives surrounding fentanyl. The brief provides prosecutors and policymakers with the facts they need to respond to misinformation and to push back against ineffective “tough on crime” approaches that have failed communities for decades.

The release comes at a pivotal time as fentanyl continues to dominate public discussion and political debate. While many jurisdictions are seeing declines in overdose deaths, renewed efforts to criminalize addiction and funding cuts to vital programs threaten to reverse that progress. After years of increases, fentanyl-related deaths declined by nearly 31 percent from 2023 to 2024, a shift experts attribute to greater awareness, harm reduction efforts, and expanded access to naloxone and treatment. Yet over 70,000 people still die each year from overdoses involving synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl. This is a stark reminder that despite progress, families, first responders, and communities continue to bear the weight of this crisis every day.

“Behind every overdose is a person, someone’s loved one whose life mattered,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis Ayala. “For more than a decade, fentanyl has devastated communities across the country, from big cities to small towns. After years of loss, we’re finally seeing progress in reducing overdose deaths, but that progress remains fragile. We cannot allow fear, misconceptions, or misinformation to undo the gains we’ve made. The evidence is clear: punishment does not save lives or reduce addiction. Prosecutors and policymakers must lead with science, empathy, and equity if we truly want to save lives and build safer, healthier communities.”

October 15, 2025

FJP Files Amicus Brief Urging Fifth Circuit to Grant Relief in Case Marred by Concealed Jailhouse Informant Testimony

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), alongside former prosecutors, filed an amicus brief in the capital case of Holberg v. Guerrero, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to reverse the District Court’s denial of Brittany Holberg’s petition for habeas corpus relief.

FJP’s brief underscores that prosecutors have a constitutional and ethical duty under Brady v. Maryland to disclose all evidence favorable to the accused, including information that can be used to challenge a witness’s credibility. In Holberg’s case, the prosecution suppressed critical impeachment evidence about key witness Vickie Kirkpatrick’s status as a paid jailhouse informant and the benefits she received for testifying. Kirkpatrick’s testimony claimed that Ms. Holberg confessed to the crime, directly contradicting Ms. Holberg’s claim of self-defense. Ms. Holberg was entitled to cross-examine Kirkpatrick to uncover her motivation and bias, and without that opportunity, jurors were denied the ability to properly weigh Kirkpatrick’s credibility in providing this material evidence. 

 “Jailhouse informant testimony is among the most unreliable forms of evidence in our criminal justice system and has contributed to countless wrongful convictions, including death sentences,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis Ayala. “When prosecutors conceal deals they offer witnesses in exchange for their testimony or informant histories, they not only violate the Constitution, they erode public trust in the justice system. Accountability, transparency, and adherence to Brady are essential to maintaining faith in the rule of law and the fundamental fairness of the criminal justice system.”