Category: Prosecutors

Soft-on-Crime DA Ousted in DC Exurb

by · Nov 18, 2023 11:29 pm

The WSJ has this editorial on the DA’s race is Loudoun County, Virginia. Loudoun is an “exurb” county, one county removed from the collar of Virginia and Maryland counties that border the District of Columbia. The DC suburbs and exurbs have moved steadily left over the years, changing the formerly conservative Virginia into a “swing state.” The WSJ opines, “Voters don’t want politicized prosecutions, and the Virginia vote shows that progressive prosecutors can be defeated even in Democratic-leaning areas no matter how much Soros cash they may have.” Continue reading . . .

Retail Crime Survey

by · Oct 27, 2023 10:08 am

Surveys of crime are worth keeping an eye on, as they help compensate for a major deficiency in official crime statistics. The official stats are generally “crimes known to the police.”  These crimes are undercounted when people don’t bother to report the crimes, and the nonreporting rate tends to increase when policies are adopted that lead people to believe that the police won’t do anything if they do report.

The National Retail Federation has this report on its 2023 Retail Security Survey. Among the results reported are the metropolitan areas identified by retailers as most affected by organized retail crime:

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Cal. DA Takes a Dive in Bogus Discrimination Case

by · Jun 30, 2023 4:39 pm

Did Contra Costa County* District Attorney Diana Becton “take a dive” when her office was accused of discriminatory charging practices? Ron Matthias, retired Senior Asst. AG, has this op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News.

Thanks to the Contra Costa district attorney’s puzzling refusal to adequately defend her office against bogus allegations of racially discriminatory charging practices, the county’s most dangerous gang-banging murderers will avoid the punishment they deserve.

Diana Becton’s anemic response to both the charge of bias and a subsequent court ruling sustaining it will leave informed observers with the nagging suspicion that she’s happy with the result. She could use the ruling as a convenient excuse for never again seeking appropriate charges against hardcore gang members and for dropping charges against some who already have been convicted.

Under California law, a gang-inspired murderer can see his sentence “enhanced” by 10 additional years, and in the case of an especially egregious murder, the gang connection could support a “special circumstance” subjecting him to a no-parole life sentence or even the death penalty. In either instance, the connection must be charged and proved.

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LA DA Fails to Boot Victim’s Advocate Out of Court

by · Jun 12, 2023 11:03 am

Our system of criminal justice is an adversary one, normally pitting the prosecutor against the defense lawyer. In Los Angeles today, however, the office of District Attorney George Gascón is often agreeing with the defendant.

While there are only two parties to a criminal case, victims of crime in California have a right to be heard under Article I § 28 of the state Constitution, as amended in the original Marsy’s Law, Proposition 9 of 2008. Retired Deputy District Attorney Kathleen Cady has been doing great work in LA toward ensuring that victims’ voices are heard. This raises the ire of Mr. Gascón, interfering with his cozy, collusive motions. Continue reading . . .

New Circuit Attorney in St. Louis

by · May 24, 2023 1:05 pm

Last Friday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson appointed Gabriel Gore as Circuit Attorney for St. Louis, replacing Kimberly Gardner, who resigned abruptly. Mr. Gore is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, although his recent experience is in private practice. The announcement is here. Eric Heffernan and Katie Kull have this story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Continue reading . . .

Philly Repeat Offender Arrested For Murder

by · Mar 14, 2023 11:53 am

Following a six-month manhunt, U.S. Marshals arrested 20-year-old Halim Evans and 29-year-old Jamel King for the September 2022 murder of a pregnant teen.  KYW News reports that on September 11, a car was identified on a security camera following two girls walking a dog in a Philadelphia suburb at 9:p.m.  The video shows one of the men exiting the car and stalking the girls then eventually opening fire.  17-year-old Teryn Johnson was hit in the chest and died later in the hospital.  She was nine weeks pregnant.  Police have not determined whether the suspects knew either girl.  Jamal King had prior drug, gun and assault convictions, and probation violations at the time of the murder.  He was recently sentenced to two years in prison for the gun and assault crimes but was released early after serving a few months.  Following his election in 2018, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner implemented policies to seek the lowest sentences for criminals he chose to prosecute in order to achieve social justice.  The pregnant teen’s murder constitutes collateral damage in pursuit of that higher goal.  A recent poll by the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that 90% of respondents said that crime was the top priority.

Missouri AG Moves to Fire St. Louis Prosecutor

by · Feb 24, 2023 1:48 pm

Federalism allows cities and states to adopt widely varying policies regarding crime and justice, so long as the policies comply with the U.S. Constitution.  When elected officials implement policies that result in increased crime or perceived injustice, the voters usually get the last word.  This happened last year in San Francisco, when voters recalled progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin for failing to aggressively prosecute criminals.  Boudin was among several dozen district attorneys, states attorneys and circuit attorneys whose campaigns were bankrolled by progressive billionaire George Soros.  Before Soros began doing this, even big city district attorney campaigns would rarely raise more than $500,000 from thousands of contributors.  To elect pro-criminal progressives to these offices Soros often contributes $500,000 to over $1,000,000 to their campaigns, essentially buying the election.

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