Manhattan District Attorney Trains Prosecutors in Science Based Interviewing (2022)

Video Edition Updated

New York County District Attorney’s Office (New York, NY)

Population: 1,630,000 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 525

In Manhattan, the District Attorney’s Office of New York, brought in expert instructors  to train investigators and prosecutors in Science Based Interview (SBI) techniques derived from research conducted by members of U.S. Intelligence Agencies in support of the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group. The methods of interviewing are based on scientific research and designed to improve communication with suspects, victims and witnesses.

Read More

El Dorado District Attorney Adopts Science Based Interviewing Practices (2022)

Video Edition Updated

El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office (El Dorado County, CA)

Population: 193,000 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors:25 | Contact Information

The District Attorney’s Office in El Dorado County, California (DAED) is spearheading a national effort to train law enforcement and prosecutors in Science Based Interview (SBI) techniques derived from research conducted by members of U.S. Intelligence Agencies in support of the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group.  The methods of interviewing are based on scientific research and designed to improve communication with suspects, victims and witnesses.

Read More

Automated Expungements (2022)

Video Edition Updated

Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office (San Jose, CA)

Population: 1,924,000 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 190 | Contact Information

The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office (SCDA) has developed a way to automate the expungement of criminal records by partnering with the Court and Public Defender to streamline the process and leverage data contained in their case management system to identify those eligible for relief.  The program was devised after Santa Clara used a similar method to expunge records for those convicted of Marijuana offenses after California passed legislation decriminalizing its possession.

Read More

Resentencing Clinic Partnership (2022)

Video Edition Updated

Yolo County District Attorney’s Office (Woodland, CA)

Population: 220,410 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 42 | Contact Information

The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office (YCDA) has partnered with For the People, a non-profit group focused on sentencing equity, and the law school at University of California, Davis to create a clinic that engages students in reviewing convictions to determine if resentencing would serve the interests of justice.  In California, prosecutors were recently given the ability to petition the court to resentence individuals, even after all appeals are final.  This new law allows prosecutors to request shorter sentences in appropriate cases. 

Read More

Public Police Conduct Disclosure Website (2022)

Video Edition Updated

Arizona Prosecuting Attorney’s Advisory Council (Phoenix, AZ)

Population: 7,174,000 | Number of Members: 858 | Contact Information

The Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council (APAAC) has developed a public, internet accessible database (often referred to as a Brady list) that contains names of law enforcement officers for whom there are materials which must be provided in discovery in order to comply with Brady v. Maryland and its progeny. 

Read More

Amending Case Review Policies to Reduce Disparate Impact of Non-Safety Traffic Stops (2021)

Post Image

Ingham County District Attorney’s Office (Lansing, MI)

Population: 292,406 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 34 | Contact Information

In the Ingham County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors are no longer filing cases that result from non-safety traffic stops, even where contraband may be discovered. The rationale behind this innovation is to reduce the disparate impact that such stops have on communities of color. Nationwide, drivers of color are disproportionately stopped and searched at a higher rate than similarly situated white drivers, even though searches of white drivers were more likely to result in the recovery of illegal contraband.

Read More