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December 19, 2023
"The Prosecutor Vacancy Crisis"
The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Adam Gershowitz now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:
There is a prosecutor vacancy crisis in the United States. Prosecutors are quitting in droves and there are few applicants to replace them. In Houston and Los Angeles, more than 15% of prosecutor positions are open. In Detroit, the vacancy rate exceeds 20%. In Alameda, 25% of prosecutor positions are empty. And in Miami, a staggering 33% of prosecutor positions are unfilled. The situation is equally dire in many large and small counties across the nation.
Drawing on data and interviews from more than two-dozen district attorney’s offices, this article documents how low salaries, massive caseloads, the lack of remote work options, and crushing discovery burdens have caused an exodus from prosecutors’ offices. Worse yet, many young lawyers no longer perceive prosecutor jobs as admirable public service. Following the murder of George Floyd, law students are more likely to believe that public defenders, rather than prosecutors, are on the side of justice.
Prosecutor vacancies are dangerous to public safety and, counter-intuitively, to criminal defendants as well. Vacancies lead to junior prosecutors having massive caseloads that they cannot handle. In turn, busy prosecutors fail to dismiss weak cases, leaving innocent defendants to languish in jail. Vacancies also result in junior prosecutors being promoted to senior positions before they are ready. And vacancies cause Brady violations because busy offices fail to provide adequate training, and individual prosecutors lack the time review their casefiles and recognize Brady material.
December 19, 2023 at 11:45 PM | Permalink
Comments
Yes, low salaries and big caseloads are two major causes. Also, in a number of the cities mentioned, elected "progressive" prosecutors drive away experienced, competent lawyers, since non-political, career prosecutors tend to want to bring sober accountability to criminals, and the Chesa Boudines of the world want the opposite. Why work for someone who seeks to undermine you and whose main sympathies lie with the people you're trying to convict?
Posted by: Bill Otis | Dec 20, 2023 10:15:30 AM
Of course, part of the problem is that the skills needed to win an election are not the same skills needed to manage a largish law office. It's not just the "progressive" prosecutors who are having an exodus of talent. In some cases, the conservative critics of progressive prosecutors are having just as many problems staffing positions and being able to actually try cases.
Posted by: tmm | Dec 20, 2023 12:53:05 PM
It says that, " And in Miami, a staggering 33% of prosecutor positions are unfilled." I'm not well-versed in politics or the hiring practices of prosecutors. But, the theory that progressive prosecutors drive away talent doesn't explain what's happening in Miami, given that it isn't typically recognized as a progressive prosecution hub. What could be the reason behind the high percentage of unfilled positions in Miami?
Posted by: Claire | Dec 20, 2023 6:03:12 PM
Some of our fellow citizens are so disillusioned with partisan politics---even though they know better, that they refuse to look at reality from a common sense perspective. The prosecutorial vacancy has absolutely nothing to do with 'progressive' prosecutors. That's a sorry narrative to assign to to this problem.
It would be nice if those who knew better chose to act on what they know as opposed to putting that partisan foolishness/talking points into the ecosystem. At some point, there must be a bottom. Let's hope that the bottom is reached soon so that reality can rule the day.
Posted by: Eric Hicks | Dec 20, 2023 9:07:23 PM
Eric Hicks penned:
"The prosecutorial vacancy has absolutely nothing to do with 'progressive' prosecutors. That's a sorry narrative to assign to this problem".
Mr. Hicks, I couldn't agree more. It is a VERY sorry narrative.
This story that experienced, competent prosecutors supposedly fled from their positions as a result of so-called progressive D.A.'s or the like, I believe is a complete fiction - absolute utter nonsense. And besides, IF any professional prosecutor fled from their positions using such a weak justification, they weren't very professional in the first place. Good riddance to any such snowflake.
When I was active (I'm now retired), should the defense team encounter a semi-ethical overly-aggressive prosecutor, it caused us to work all that much harder, and we enjoyed the challenge. It made the victory all that much sweeter in the end. Any hard-working competent legal professional would, of course, do the same.
Posted by: SG | Dec 21, 2023 5:37:38 AM
It's interesting. I don't know if Katherine Rundle - the elected prosecutor of Miami Dade is progressive or why they have so many vacancies in the prosecutor's office, but Florida is worth a look.
DeSantis fired the elected progressive prosecutors in Tampa and Orlando. because he felt that they were not permitting aggressive charging in these jurisdictions.
Posted by: beth curtis | Dec 22, 2023 1:42:28 PM
