Hey, there! Log in / Register
Turns out Rachael Rollins's proposal to think twice about prosecuting certain crimes wasn't all that radical
By adamg on Thu, 03/21/2019 - 9:30am
The ACLU of Massachusetts now has a data person on staff, who's begun analyzing lots of data related to criminal justice, and one of his first looks is at "Declining to prosecute" cases for Suffolk County - the sort of thing that new DA Rachael Rollins said she would step up for certain types of low-level crimes:
Her pledge was hailed by progressives and criminal legal reform advocates, but sharply criticized by police lobby groups and others in law enforcement.
In fact, data from DA Dan Conley’s term in office reveal that Rollins’ plan won’t mark a sea change for the Suffolk County DA’s Office. The data show that over half of the charges Rollins has indicated her office will decline to prosecute were dismissed under Conley.
You can download the data, from 2013 and 2014, to take a look yourself.
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
The "radicall agenda" was
The "radicall agenda" was just propaganda by the people who did not want her to win. If you sit down and talk with her you see that is not all that radical and is very practical.
Choosing the default of not prosecuting those base crimes makes sense as they are often a waste of time and sometimes prosecution causes more societal problems than not. PLUS people keep forgetting that is simply the default. All she is doing is flipping it so instead of needing permission to not prosecute her staff needs permission to prosecute. They have not given that power away.
I am not shocked to see that Conley took the same view on many of these items TBH.
One only needs to look at the
One only needs to look at the sick vitriol hurled at Rollins in all Victor Pena threads to see how true your first sentence is.
There's two sides to the coin
One the one side was a candidate whose bold move was to do exactly what her predecessor did.
On the other side was a section of the electorate who was flabbergasted at the idea, which again was already in place.
I would say that she played it well and ran a well disciplined campaign. To wit, her backstory was not well known until just about the time she was sworn in.
statistics and headlines are funny things
Headline: It's no big deal...
Alternative headline: She's doubling the list of non-chargable cases!
Note: I've written here before that I think her idea is fairly reasonable, but the way she communicated/presented it has been awful, with seeming disregard for the victims of the various 'minor' crimes she's looking to not prosecute.
Yes
Yes, this is exactly what people who actually understand the criminal justice system and spend time in court said repeatedly. That of course didn’t stop the Boston Herald and police unions from racebaiting left and right.
Howie Carr was going on about
Howie Carr was going on about her on one of his shows and she called in. He let her explain her perspective and after listening to her, it did make more sense. I think even Howie was swayed a bit. He did thank her for coming on and it was a very smart thing for her to do. Nip it in the bud, so to speak.
I'm no Howie Carr fan
but some of his, um, work really can add some perspective and necessary critique.
I have a very confusing crush* on Special Counsel Robert Mueller but reading this Howie Carr article about Mueller's time at the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston:
https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/04/12/howie-carr-come-clean-on-fbi-fra...
A begrudging thanks to Howie for that article because I learned something new:
(Quote copy/pasted from a New York Times article)
*I still root for my silent, virile, Sam-Eagle-looking-ass Leo king Mueller though.
Did Castle Island, State House vandals know of Rollins' list?
No wonder we're seeing a spate of high profile, despicable malicious destruction of property at the State House, Castle Island and elsewhere with the culprits knowing that wanton or malicious destruction of property is on Rollins' "do not prosecute" list? Of course the media dutifully omits this when breathlessly covering these predictable crimes.
As for "Rollins is only doing what Dan Conley did," that's hardly a laudable standard. Never forget that it was Conley's office that obediently allowed an immigrant facing deportation to avoid two counts of armed bank robbery, with ample evidence and witnesses, to instead plead to "pickpocket" and a 364 day sentence as 365 days would have triggered deportation. Upon release, the immigrant showed his gratitude by brutally slitting the throats of two doctors in their South Boston home. As for the bank robberies, an elderly teller, willing to testify, said one of them was the scariest robbery she had ever been through in forty years in banking. She was never called to testify.
Assuming the vandals you mentioned
are identified and charged...who the heck do you think is going to be prosecuting them? Mayor McCheese from McDonaldsland (I somehow doubt that McCheese has his J.D.)?
Here's a hint: someone whose name rhymes with "Shmachel Shmollins" would investigate these vandalism crimes and bring the perps to justice...as the Suffolk County DA is wont to do.
You're not really undoing the stereotype of "cops who don't possess critical thinking skills", Fishy.
Officer Jay: Ma'am do you know why I'm standing here?
Sarah Silverman: You got all C's in high school?
Rollins is also of Irish descent
and I will not stand for this Hibernophobic slander of my Suffolk County DA!
Translation
OMG BLACK WOMAN IS THE DA!!!!!!
*falls on Victorian fainting couch*
Rollins's dog's name is Cassius...like Cassius Clay...aka Muhammad Ali...NOOOO!
WHAT IF BLACK WOMAN DA IS MUSLIM TOO?!!
Translation
When someone disagrees with SwirlyGirl and she feels triggered she just plays the race card.
@CourtWatchMA
I've been following @CourtWatchMA to see how this is going.
Rachael's real test
She has vowed to be tough on police misconduct. Lets see if she keeps her word or plays lets make a deal to pacify the powerful police unions.
Well
She did appoint an independent panel to have oversight on the last person killed by a cop. That's got to be something.
You overlook one key factor
This study is conducted by the ACLU, a biased organization.