Federal Prosecution for the 21st Century

70 Pages Posted: 26 Sep 2014

See all articles by Lauren-Brooke Eisen

Lauren-Brooke Eisen

New York University (NYU) - Brennan Center for Justice

Nicole Fortier

New York University (NYU) - Brennan Center for Justice

Inimai M. Chettiar

New York University School of Law; New York University (NYU) - Brennan Center for Justice

Date Written: September 23, 2014

Abstract

This new report from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law proposes modernizing one key aspect of the criminal justice system: federal prosecutors. Prosecutors are in a uniquely powerful position to bring change, since they make decisions about when and whether to bring criminal charges, and make recommendations for sentencing. The report proposes reorienting the way prosecutors' "success" is measured around three core goals: Reducing violent and serious crime, reducing prison populations, and reducing recidivism. The mechanism for change would be a shift in how attorneys' performance is assessed, to give prosecutors incentives to focus on how their practices reduce crime in and improve the communities they serve, instead of making their "success" simply a measure of how many individuals they convict and send to prison.

Keywords: prosecution, mass incarceration, criminal justice, policing

Suggested Citation

Eisen, Lauren-Brooke and Fortier, Nicole and Chettiar, Inimai M. and Chettiar, Inimai M., Federal Prosecution for the 21st Century (September 23, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2500854 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2500854

Lauren-Brooke Eisen (Contact Author)

New York University (NYU) - Brennan Center for Justice ( email )

161 Avenue of the Americas
12th Floor
New York, NY 10013
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.brennancenter.org/expert/lauren-brooke-eisen

Nicole Fortier

New York University (NYU) - Brennan Center for Justice ( email )

161 Avenue of the Americas
12th Floor
New York, NY 10013
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.brennancenter.org/expert/nicole-fortier

Inimai M. Chettiar

New York University (NYU) - Brennan Center for Justice ( email )

161 Avenue of the Americas
12th Floor
New York, NY 10013
United States

New York University School of Law ( email )

40 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012-1099
United States

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