“The Misplaced Trust in the DOJ’s Expertise on Criminal Justice Policy”

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

In this Review of Professor Rachel Barkow’s new book, Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration, I address Professor Barkow’s point about law enforcement resisting criminal justice reforms.  I place particular emphasis on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) and the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys’ (NAAUSA) opposition to nearly any federal criminal justice reform.  Federal prosecutors often claim that they just enforce the law — no more, no less.  But their actions show the contrary.

Through presidential administrations of both parties, the DOJ and the NAAUSA have affirmatively opposed most federal criminal justice reforms on issues involving sentencing, corrections, and clemency.  Oftentimes they weigh in on issues for which their prosecutors have no expertise.  Even worse, they have thwarted the goals of the very presidents they serve, especially if the president sets out to reform the system in ways that infringe on the DOJ’s prerogatives. 

If their opposition to reform were rooted in public safety or fairness, that would be one thing.  But through their lobbying efforts, they often advocate for policies that make it easier for federal prosecutors to charge and incarcerate people — as if that is the only worthy goal of the federal criminal justice system.  And all too often federal policymakers — whether members of Congress, the White House, or the U.S. Sentencing Commission — have listened.  As a result, there are now nearly 4,450 federal statutes and hundreds of thousands of federal regulations carrying criminal penalties, excessively punitive federal sentences, and a federal prison population that has increased by 618 percent since 1980.