Join the Houston Institute and the ACLU of Massachusetts for a daylong conference at Harvard Law School titled: “Redefining the Role of the Prosecutor within the Community.”
Prosecutors are key actors within our current justice system and possess an enormous amount of discretion about who is charged, for what, and the severity of the sentence received. Additionally, prosecutors wield power in state legislatures, in determining how tax dollars are spent, and in prioritizing rehabilitation or retribution in these decisions.
Yet, we know surprisingly little about how these decisions are made, why, and the pressures and incentives that inform prosecutorial actions and cultures. Grassroots organizations, justice reform advocates and scholars have begun to take a closer look at the impact of prosecutorial decisions in building historic rates of incarceration, and are defining a more expansive set of metrics for measuring their performance.
In the morning, we will identify and discuss new models for prosecution and hear from former prosecutors about their experiences and insights. We will then hear brief presentations from economist John Pfaff about his research regarding the impact of prosecutorial decisions on incarceration rates, and from Measures for Justice on new ways to measure “justice outcomes” within a community. Our afternoon panel and ensuing discussion will focus on creating and implementing models for community engagement and oversight.
This event is free and open to the public.
Videos
Welcome and Introductions
Panel 1
Coming soon
Panel 2
John Pfaff
Caroline Sarnoff
Panel 3
Agenda
8:30 am—9:15 am
- Continental Breakfast, Registration
9:15 am—9:30 am
- Welcome
9:30 am—10:45 am
- Panel 1: Defining a New Role for the Prosecutor within a Reformed Justice System: Overview
- Adam Foss, Prosecutor Impact
- Miriam Krinsky, Fair and Just Prosecution
- Karen Lischinsky, MA Restorative Justice Collaborative
- Nina Morrison, The Innocence Project
- Katrina Gamble, Color Of Change (moderator)
10:45 am—11:00 am
- Break
11:00 am—11:30 am
- Presentation: Initial Findings and Themes from Interviews with Prosecutors
- Laura R. McNeal, University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law
- Johanna Wald, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice
11:30 am—12:30 pm
- Panel 2: Former Prosecutors Talk about Professional Incentives and Cultures, and the Challenges of Pushing Reform from Within
- Rahsaan Hall, ACLU of Massachusetts
- Mark Osler, University of St. Thomas School of Law
- Melba Pearson, ACLU of Florida
- Hon. Nancy Gertner, Harvard Law School (moderator)
12:30 pm—1:30 pm
- Lunch (Provided)
- Presentation: Implications of Research/Data on the Impact of Prosecutorial Charging Decisions over Past 20 Years
- John Pfaff, Fordham University School of Law
- Presentation: New Opportunities to Measure/Calculate Justice Outcomes at the County Level
- Caroline Sarnoff, Measures for Justice
1:45 pm—3:15 pm
- Panel 3: Creating Models for Community Engagement and Oversight
- Dan Alban, Institute for Justice
- Bill Cobb, ACLU
- Andrea Marta, PICO
- Josie Duffy Rice, Fair Punishment Project
- Scott Roberts, Color Of Change
- Whitney Taylor, ACLU of Massachusetts (moderator)
3:30 pm—4:30 pm
- Action Plan, Next Steps
4:30 pm—5:00 pm
- Reception with Light Refreshments
Press:
Harvard Law Today article
Prison Policy Initiative blog about the conference