“Pitfalls of Progressive Prosecution”

The title of this post is the title of this notable new paper authored by Carissa Byrne Hessick now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:

So-called progressive prosecutors have come under attack, in part, due to two pitfalls associated with the progressive prosecution movement.  First, in styling themselves as substantively different than other prosecutors, progressive prosecutors may have obscured the extent to which they are relying on otherwise well-worn and well-accepted prosecutorial tools.  Second, in arguing that the root-causes of crime are best addressed through means other than criminal prosecutions, prosecutors have portrayed themselves as unable to take action when crime rates increase.  This article identifies the national political “brand” of progressive prosecution, discusses the two features of that brand that leave prosecutors particularly vulnerable to political attack, and offers suggestions for how to tweak the progressive prosecutor brand to better avoid these pitfalls.