The Politics of Justice

While juries convict and judges pass sentence, it is the elected local prosecutor—the district attorney (DA)—more than any other actor who determines the course of criminal justice in the United States. The decision on whether to charge an individual, what charges to file, whether to drop a case or offer a plea bargain--and the specific terms of that bargain--are unreviewable powers of district attorneys (DAs). In this episode of the Harvard Horizons podcast, PhD student Chika Okafor explores the dramatic effect that electoral politics have on the sentences DAs seek in criminal cases.