Promoting Progress: Opportunities and Obstacles to Prosecutor-Led Reform

In the last few election cycles, progressive prosecutors have been elected in places like Chicago, Orlando, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, joining the ranks of progressive prosecutors in other cities. Reform-minded attorneys are also serving as line prosecutors in federal and state prosecutor offices across the country. These attorneys, many of whom are men and women of color, are seeking to leverage their roles as prosecutors to combat racial and economic disparities in the criminal justice system. How can prosecutors use their discretion and influence to pursue racial and economic justice? What constraints, both legal and systemic, limit a prosecutor’s ability to achieve reform? What are the ethical obligations to pursue prosecutions, even in cases where the law disparately impacts people of color or the economically vulnerable?

SPEAKERS

Adam Foss, Founder and President, Prosecutor Impact; Moderator
Hon. Aramis Ayala, State Attorney, Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
Hon. Wesley Bell, Prosecuting Attorney, St. Louis County, Missouri
Hon. Aisha Braveboy, State's Attorney, Prince George's County, Maryland
Marbre Stahly-Butts, Executive Director, Law For Black Lives

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