Emergency Preparedness

Are You Prepared?

Disaster has hit prosecutors’ offices in a variety of ways: flooding (East Baton Rouge, Houston), hurricanes (New Orleans, Miami), fire (Missouri; New Jersey) and terrorism (New York). Even less destructive forces, like a snow storm, can impede a prosecutor’s office ability to function. Planning in advance of an emergency is critical for the safety of employees and for assuring that essential work can continue. Here are three areas for consideration:

In September 2013, the Tennessee District Attorney Generals unanimously voted to establish the Tennessee Justice and Professionalism Committee (TJPC) as a standing committee of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC) to pursue best practices for prosecutors.  TJPC’s goal is to take the lead in improving Tennessee’s criminal justice system by keeping abreast of emerging issues and partnering with state and national criminal justice partners.

The Michigan Prosecutors’ Justice Initiative (MPJI), Ethics and Best Practices Committee was established in 2014 to ensure justice is delivered with the highest degree of integrity through the development of professional standards designed to improve public safety, protect the rights of the accused, secure justice for crime victims, and hold offenders accountable. The committee meets on a regular basis to discuss the challenging issues of the day and to provide guidance on a variety of subjects.

Join the National District Attorneys Association’s Women Prosecutors Section

The Women Prosecutors Section is open to all members of the NDAA. The Chair of the Committee is District Attorney Jackie Lacey of Los Angeles County, California.

The Committee: The Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys (VACA) Committee on Justice and Professionalism, established in September of 2014, serves as a forum for Virginia prosecutors to share information, collaborate on case reviews, remain current on legal and investigative trends, and avoid erroneous convictions. Committee members include elected Commonwealth’s Attorneys and deputies from a diverse range of counties and cities throughout Virginia. The committee had initially been funded in part by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and now is supported by VACA.

The Committee: Established in 2013, the NCCDA Best Practices Committee includes both elected district attorneys and senior assistant district attorneys, who represent a diverse collection of the state’s districts. The committee recommends procedures that enhance the truth-seeking function critical to all investigations and prosecutions; analyzes ethical issues and generates updates for prosecutors on cases and rules that affect the ethical obligations of prosecutors; and develops efficient and effective management procedures and guidelines for the processing of certain case types and issues.

The Committee: The KCDAA’s Best Practices Committee has 20 members, both elected district attorneys and assistant prosecutors representing small, medium and large jurisdictions from different parts of the state. The committee meets in person at least four times per year and corresponds over email or by conference calls in the intervening months. For an overview of the committee, click here.

Here are some articles and a podcast about good prosecutors:

The Boss Didn’t Play Politics – New York Law Journal (12/16/2016) Read

Criminally Yours: What Makes a Good DA -Above The Law (10/17/2016) Read

Author(s): Kristine Hamann, Rebecca Rader Brown

A prosecutor’s core mission is and has always been to promote justice and to protect the community by ensuring public safety. Over the past 30 years, the way prosecutors approach this mission has evolved. In place of the old, reactive criminal justice model, prosecutors and police are using new methods and evidence to take a proactive, broader approach to preventing, investigating, and prosecuting crime.

Prosecutor-focused courses in law schools are an excellent way for prosecutors to expose law students to their work and to have students available to do research on prosecution issues.  Statewide Best Practices Committees have benefited from working with their local law schools to develop classes that can focus on emerging issues and policy questions.