7 Aspiring Lawyers of Color Want You to Pay Attention to the DA Race
This piece was written by the seven Scholars in the 2018 LevelBar cohort.
No position in America, no single individual has a bigger impact on the criminal justice system ― including police brutality, but the whole crisis of mass incarceration in general ― than your local district attorney.
--Shaun King, founder of the Real Justice Movement
Lady Justice might hold the scales, but there are surprisingly few checks and balances in our U.S. criminal justice system. While judges have recently been the focus of media attention, another figure in the courtroom wields similarly unchecked power over the impartment of justice, yet we don’t seem to pay her the same attention. One single person has complete authority to decide which crimes are to be prosecuted, what charges will be filed, and whether a child will stand trial as an adult. Likewise, she decides who receives a plea deal. One person can recommend probation over prison and decide whether or not a police officer must answer for his or her crimes. That often-overlooked figure is the District Attorney, and her reach is unparalleled.
No law mandates the DA to pursue certain cases. In fact, there is no clear oversight of the DA’s decisions. The responsibility to limit or oversee a district attorney rests solely upon ALL OF US. Only the voters have the power to hold district attorneys accountable to the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and compassion. In 2002, about 79,000 more residents in San Diego county voted for governor than they did for district attorney, meaning many of us have willingly given up the most important tool to influence our criminal justice system. By emphasizing both the power of our vote and the role of the DA, we take a step forward toward reforming the current justice system.
If you’ve never had a run-in with the law, it may seem easy to ignore to the race for district attorney, but the stakes are too high for young people of color to do so. According to the NAACP, “the United States makes up about 5% of the world’s population and has 21% of the world’s prisoners.” Representing 32% of the population, African Americans and Latinos made up 56% of the prison population in 2015. African American men in particular, are being incarcerated at five time the rate of white men. In a report submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union writes, “These racial disparities result from disparate treatment of Blacks at every stage of the criminal justice system, including stops and searches, arrests, prosecutions and plea negotiations, trials, and sentencing. Race matters at all phases and aspects of the criminal process, including the quality of representation, the charging phase, and the availability of plea agreements, each of which impact whether juvenile and adult defendants face a potential LWOP sentence.” Further details of the report demonstrate the active role that the district attorney, as the lead prosecutor, plays in creating these disparities:
Racial disparities in sentencing also result in part from prosecutors’ decisions at the initial charging stage, suggesting that racial bias affects the exercise of prosecutorial discretion with respect to certain crimes. One study found that Black defendants face significantly more severe charges than whites, even after controlling for characteristics of the offense, criminal history, defense counsel type, age and education of the offender, and crime rates and economic characteristics of the jurisdiction.
Available data also suggests that there are racial disparities in prosecutors’ exercise of discretion in seeking sentencing enhancements under three-strikes and other habitual offender laws. For instance, a 1995 legal challenge revealed the racially biased role of prosecutorial discretion in the application of Georgia’s two-strikes law. Georgia prosecutors have discretion to decide whether to charge offenders under the state’s two-strikes sentencing scheme, which imposes life imprisonment for a second drug offense. They invoked the law against only 1 percent of white defendants facing a second drug conviction, compared to 16 percent of Black defendants. As a result, 98.4 percent of prisoners serving life sentences under the law were Black. In California, studies similarly show that Blacks are sentenced under the state’s three strikes law at far higher rates than their white counterparts.
The evidence that prosecutors contribute to systematic inequalities in criminal justice is nothing short of damning. It is clear that “equality under the law” is far from reality, and yet, we as voters fail time and time again to exercise our power to bring our country closer to this ideal. When officials are elected by the people, they must conform to the values of the electorate. Right now, we’ve shown our leaders that we are complicit in racial inequality, that we don’t value justice or equality, and that we will continue to elect them despite their racist sentiments and actions. What message will you send with your vote?
Many of us already know the lifelong impact of convictions. This impact compounds itself not only on people of color but on immigrants as well. It is all too common that formerly incarcerated individuals encounter unreturned calls for interviews and are denied public services or assistance and immigration relief. Those convicted of a felony are ineligible to vote in many states, contributing to a cycle of disenfranchisement and recidivism. Only racially diverse prosecutors who respect human rights above all else can remediate this crisis in the penal system. The District Attorney influences the level of prosecution, sways police action, and dictates the sentencing for the person being prosecuted. Therefore, the DA race is inescapably important. No matter where you live, it is in your best interest to be informed of what the DA’s track record has been within your community.
As today’s immigrant population faces attacks from the highest levels of the government, the DA race gives us an opportunity to respond. The DA’s prosecutorial choices can lead to even greater threats of deportation. Such was the case for Roland Sylvain, a Haitian immigrant who faced deportation from the U.S. due to a “aggravated felony” conviction which stemmed from his use of a false name while receiving a speeding ticket. Harsh prosecution practices are part of the current war on the immigrant population and our choice for DA directly impacts the lives of individuals and the integrity of families.
The authors of this piece all reside in Alameda County. For the fiscal year 2017-2018, 17% of Alameda county’s budget went towards incarceration and responding to crime. That number becomes disproportionately high when you compare it to the 1.2% of the county’s budget that went towards prevention services for at-risk youth. We would like to see a significant shift in these statistics. The upcoming election for the District Attorney in Alameda County involves two democratic candidates, Pamela Price and Nancy O’Malley. Pamela Price has been running her campaign as a progressivist as well as a reformist. Her goal is to unseat the incumbent District Attorney Nancy O’Malley by incorporating a humanitarian approach of “justice with compassion.” Incumbent O’Malley runs with support that relies “heavily on police unions, attorneys from all over the bay area,” Governor Jerry Brown, and Senator Kamala Harris. O’Malley has been denounced by the East Bay Citizen, who opined that “Price’s campaign has been boosted by an outpouring of support from progressives in Alameda County, who believe O’Malley is ambivalent toward convicting police officers for wrongdoing.” The election is complex, as many powerful figures endorse O’Malley despite her less progressive appeal. Senator Harris has, according to Rockridge Patch, “formerly worked with O'Malley in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office before becoming a district attorney herself in San Francisco,” which may explain her endorsement of DA O’Malley. However, in addition to the substantial support O’Malley is receiving, Rockridge Patch has also acknowledged that “billionaire George Soros backs challenger Pamela Price.” This endorsement from Soros might level the playing field, giving Price the chance to compete, or weaken her campaign due to public distrust of billionaires and large individual donors.
The election of a District Attorney requires a fundamental evaluation of our values. We must make an informed choice. To be complicit in these races is to ensure the status quo. It is to say that we do not feel empowered to choose who we elect to hold our community and, importantly, our police accountable to the law. To vote can mean so much more. It can voice the pain of millions of American residents, especially those groups most disproportionately entwined in the criminal justice system. It can make clear that we not only expect but we demand that our prosecutors act without bias in choosing which cases to indict, plea deals to offer, and sentences to recommend, that they hold police officers to the highest of ethical standards and stand firm in prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law when they abuse their authority. We cannot stay silent in underscoring the importance of electing not only a just DA in areas with high concentrations of people of color, but a just DA who has the boldness and courage to ensure that her functionaries are just as well. A vote can demand that no one be above the law and that everyone be treated equally under the law, one county at a time. What are your values? Do you know the values of the District Attorney whose sole discretion determines the direction of justice for your community? Why not?
Juan Martin Cabrales : “As the son of immigrants and a person of color, I care about the DA race because of the influence the office holds over my community. For several years I have worked professionally with numerous immigrants and can attest to fact that families have been torn apart due to low level crimes. A DA who is informed about the severe consequences certain convictions have on an individual’s immigration case is extremely important. Minor crimes such as possession or petty theft can create a catastrophe for a family unit. Our DA should be compassionate towards individuals who clearly do not pose a threat to the community. Furthermore, the DA has the power to sign certifications of cooperation, which are required for an immigrant obtain certain immigration benefits, such as a U Visa for victims of crimes. The DA race is a vital role in the criminal justice system and we should do our parts to be informed on the power they hold and who it will effect.”
Ausjia Perlow : “When I was younger, I always valued fairness above all and was taught that the American justice system did as well, that justice was blind treated everyone fairly. This illusion culminated in my aspirations to practice law. That naivete has since been replaced with a determination to be a changemaker, one who meaningfully brings that system closer to the ideals of equality and fairness that we purport to hold so dear. One of the easiest ways that we can all accomplish this is simply by electing District Attorneys who are also committed to being changemakers. We need more people willing to reject the status quo and to instead to adopt new methods to strive toward these higher aims of fairness, compassion, and justice.”
Gabriela Arroyo : “As a person color I have always felt unrepresented in politics. I also feel that the experiences of people of color are not taken into consideration properly, thus when DAs use their discretion they are not always aware of the impact their decision has on a person who is already at a (structurally) racial disadvantage. Therefore, It is essential to make changes by electing DAs who can relate and understand the communities that they are involved with. DAs should be able to understand the full effect of a cyclical approach, and should hold values that incorporate rehabilitation, reintegration, and community-based programs.”
Kimberly Anne Verzano : “Race, power and privilege are factors that perpetuate the problem of structural inequalities within the American Legal Justice System. As a woman and a first generation Filipino American, I understand and relate to the struggles that people of color face. Minorities are not always at the forefront of power but are more often crushed by those who possess it. Historically, people of color have been exploited for their labor or victimized by the legal system because they cannot afford exceptional legal aid. In the 21st century, police brutality especially in Oakland is a major contributor to social injustice. The police need to be held accountable and the only way we can do this is by electing the right District Attorney [DA]: someone who is aware of the racial inequality within the American Justice System and is willing to be the main advocate for underprivileged communities. Take Oakland, for example, a city of diverse cultural backgrounds, where minorities from impoverished communities have been disproportionately represented. Historically, Oakland’s reputation in incarceration has heavily been focused on specific minorities such as Black and Brown bodies.”
Ashley Lopez Figuera : “I care about the DA race because the District Attorney’s decisions help determine the fate of my Latino and immigrant community. Is it one filled with fear of authority? Or with a sense of safety and tolerance? Can I see people from disadvantaged backgrounds beating the odds and rising to powerful positions? Or wasting their untapped potential in a jail cell? I want my loved ones to have an equal opportunity to live life to the fullest, and I am sure you do too.”
Feven Ezra : “The DA race is the most important sector in this primary election simply because of the effects it brings to the Alameda County. Without an individual with integrity and understanding of the community in which they operate, the city that I live in will not encourage and support the folks that have lived here for generations but rather will accommodate people and corporations that choose to criminalize and equate humans with profitable gains. I am eager to participate in the 2018 DA elections because I want to decriminalize the youth and people of color that are facing incarceration for petty crimes.“
Hideyasu Kurose : “When I was living in South Central, people of color from my neighborhood were arrested, sequestered, and ultimately incarcerated on a moment by moment basis. I recall that many were labeled gang members and profiled as gang members but these hard-working men and women were simply blue-collar workers lacking sufficient funds to pay basic parking fines, car registration, or exorbitant tax assessments. Functionaries of the LA District Attorney would ensure that these hard-working men and women spent the maximum amount of time in prison so that their resolve would be broken prior to their trial. There is no doubt that many among them who had never encountered gang members before, certainly encountered them in LA County jail. Therefore, the rapid apprehension and incarceration of my neighbors by the LA County DA’s office not only promoted prejudice, it fueled gang recruitment by putting hard-working men and women of color in prison side-by-side with established gang members. If poor people could afford bail, then gang exposure awaiting trial would be limited but as the searing op-ed of Kamala Harris and Rand Paul in the NY Times confirms, most poor people of color cannot afford bail.”
