Plan B Forum

wesw wrote:dem nominee for DA is not gonna prosecute many crimes if elected.

boston strong

Suffolk County appears poised to have a self-described reformer as its top prosecutor.

In the primary Tuesday, Rachael Rollins easily beat out five other Democrats -- including a DA's office insider endorsed by retiring District Attorney Dan Conley. She still has to face off against independent candidate Mike Maloney in November.

Rollins has worked as a lawyer for 20 years, including as a federal prosecutor. She was the first female general counsel at the MBTA, and was Massport's head lawyer.

Her win in the Boston-based county follows in the footsteps of Philadelphia and Chicago's Cook County, which also recently elected reform-minded prosecutors.

In an interview with WBUR last month -- before her primary victory -- Rollins outlined some of what she wants to achieve as DA. Here's what she said:

She wants the office to reflect Suffolk County:

Rollins would represent a majority-minority county, and she says the staffers and assistant district attorneys in the office need to mirror that.

"You have to intentionally make sure you want women to be in leadership," she said. "You have to intentionally make sure you want people of different abilities to be in leadership. You have to work hard to make sure that there are people of color — and in particular black and brown people — whom are the ones that are most often reflected in our criminal justice system."

She says she plans to recruit and retain more people of color, something that would be helped by her time as the former president of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association and connections with the Boston branch of the NAACP.

She wants to eliminate more mandatory minimum sentences:

The criminal justice reform bill passed by the Legislature this year got rid of mandatory minimums for many drug crimes, but increased them for trafficking synthetic opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil. Rollins wants most mandatory minimums gone -- except for first-degree murder. She says we need to trust judges when it comes to sentencing.

She wants to get rid of cash bail:

Instead, Rollins wants to see Massachusetts be more like New Jersey, which eliminated cash bail in favor of a system in which judges consider each defendant's risk before deciding if the person should be held. In this state, there's already a process for that, called a dangerousness hearing.

She thinks there are better ways to get people to return to court than money — by getting people to trust the system. Then, she says, they'll hand over cellphone numbers or other personal information so the courts can keep track of them.

"When they look at a court system that they believe is set up to harm them, or not to help them, it's going to be hard to get information from them to do that," she said.

She wants to track and turn over more data in the office:

She specifically mentioned Kim Foxx, the state's attorney in Cook County in Chicago, who has collected and published case data. Rollins said she'll waive fees for public records requests for those in education and community groups.

She wants the DA's office to work more like a service industry:

She says that at Logan Airport, state troopers working the terminals had to be reminded that not every interaction with a traveler needed to be treated like a police encounter, shouting at people picking up their grandmother to keep it moving. They had to be told to use a more gentle touch, she says. That's also what needs to happen at the DA's office, she says, with more of a focus on families of victims and suspects than the bottom line of prosecution.

She said she'd bring a different lens to the office:

Rollins is the oldest of five kids, some of whom have been caught up in the criminal justice system. As a result, she's raising two of her nieces, in addition to her teenage daughter.

"I've lived this experience as a black woman my entire life," she said. "And I also am really fortunate that I've gone to some of the best schools in the world and also have lived a life that has shown me a different side of the world as well."

wesw wrote:I was gonna link it, but the google machine seems to have shadowbanned the story.

I know that it is true because I just heard it from her own lips on the tucker Carlson show...

So you could rely upon wesw’s mysterious “link” or you could read what Rachael Rollins has to say on this subject herself:

Charges To Be Declined

Charges for which the Default is to Decline Prosecuting (unless supervisor permission is obtained).

Trespassing
Shoplifting (including offenses that are essentially shoplifting but charged as larceny)
Larceny under $250
Disorderly conduct
Disturbing the peace
Receiving stolen property
Minor driving offenses, including operating with a suspend or revoked license
Breaking and entering — where it is into a vacant property or where it is for the purpose of sleeping or seeking refuge from the cold and there is no actual damage to property
Wanton or malicious destruction of property
Threats – excluding domestic violence
Minor in possession of alcohol
Drug possession
Drug possession with intent to distribute
A stand alone resisting arrest charge, i.e. cases where a person is charged with resisting arrest and that is the only charge
A resisting arrest charge combined with only charges that all fall under the list of charges to decline to prosecute, e.g. resisting arrest charge combined only with a trespassing charge[or a drug possession with intent to distribute charge]

BoSoxGal wrote:LJ, do you seriously not understand the need to set priorities for prosecution in a system that can’t possibly accommodate all the caseload that would otherwise come its way? Believe me, this is happening where you live, too.

wesw wrote:ah, there it is again...., much changed tho.....