Every candidate for District Attorney in California–both incumbents and challengers–received a questionnaire with 23 Yes/No questions. Here are their responses to date.
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Advancing Youth Justice
Will you commit to keeping all children out of adult court by pledging not to prosecute any minors as adults and by expanding the use of informal diversion and pre-filing diversion in juvenile cases?
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No
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Yes
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Did not respond
Recognizing that children and youth are categorically less culpable than adults, that they have less impulse control and that they possess profound capacity for transformation, will you decline to seek life without the possibility of parole for any person under 25 at the time of offense?
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No
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Yes
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Did not respond
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Combatting Racial Disparities
Will you commit to implement policies and practices to combat bias in decision-making within your Office, including in charging decisions, bail recommendations, diversionary program placements, and plea bargains – as well as in internal Office practices (i.e. regularly bringing in experts to train staff and prosecutors on implicit and explicit bias, prioritizing inclusive hiring and promotion, and ensuring the office not only has racial and ethnic diversity, but also diversity in gender, ability, health)?
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Yes
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Did not respond
Will you pledge to collect and post online quarterly statistical information disaggregated by race and gender on felony and misdemeanor charging decisions, convictions, declinations (to charge), and diversion program placements?
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Yes
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Did not respond
Will you decline to file charges where an arrest evidence that the officer engaged in racial profiling or other racial bias?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
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Death Penalty
Will you pledge to exercising your discretion to never seek the death penalty?
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No
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Did not respond
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Ending Mass Incarceration
In the last ten years, the California District Attorneys Association has opposed all criminal justice reform measures at the ballot and most in the legislature. Will you commit to breaking with the CDAA and supporting reforms to reduce reliance on incarceration in the Legislature and the ballot box?
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No
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Yes
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Did not respond
Will you commit to implementing practices that will reduce the jail population and reduce state prison commitments by a specific percentage by the end of your first term? Please select “Yes” or “No” and provide explanation. If “Yes”, please identify your goal and what specific combination of reforms you anticipate will achieve this goal.
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No
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Yes
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Did not respond
Do you agree that prosecutors’ practices have contributed significantly to mass incarceration?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
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Ending Poverty Penalties and Money Bail
Do you commit to ending the use of money bail in this County?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
Do you support eliminating money bail in California at the state level?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
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Ensuring, Accessibility, Transparency and Accountability
Will you commit to develop and implement a plan to personally, regularly and meaningfully engage and communicate with all constituencies in your county, especially communities of color, the immigrant community, community-based organizations and criminal justice reform advocates, and to involve them in determining the priorities of your office within the first 100 days of your term?
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Yes
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Did not respond
Will you pledge to publish on the Office website all policies, protocols, and MOUs regarding prosecution guidelines, police-involved incidents, bail recommendations, fines and fees, diversion programs, plea bargains, civil asset forfeiture, immigration considerations, and indigency determinations?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
Will you pledge to create/expand a Conviction Integrity Unit and, as part of that process, compare current operations against the guidelines published by the Innocence Project in October 2015?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
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Protecting Immigrant Communities
Will you pledge to adopt a written policy and training which encourages prosecutors to consider the unintended immigration-related consequences of prosecutorial decisions at all stages of a case and to use their discretion to reach immigration-safe dispositions for noncitizens whenever it is possible and appropriate?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
To protect immigrant crime victims, will you pledge to adopt and promote a written U Visa policy within your Office that includes a rebuttable presumption of helpfulness and the direction that U Visa certifications be completed regardless of whether charges were brought, a conviction was achieved, or the case has concluded?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
Will you refuse to cooperate and liaise with ICE?
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Yes
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Did not respond
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Protecting Workers and Consumers
Will you create or expand a Consumer Protection Unit in the Office to address labor violations – whether related to occupational safety and health or violations of basic laws, regulations or policies related to wages, hours or conditions of employment?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
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Reducing Gun Violence
Do you pledge to be a champion and supporter of gun violence reduction strategies proven to reduce shootings, rather than over-relying on prosecution that is both generally ineffective at preventing future violence and is likely to send disproportionately more black and brown young people to jail?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
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Standing Up to Police Misconduct
Will you swiftly, thoroughly and transparently investigate officer-involved shootings and police brutality and make your findings publicly available?
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Yes
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Did not respond
If you believe there is a conflict of interest in an investigation (as described above), will you recuse your office and call for an independent investigation by the Attorney General of California?
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Yes
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Did not respond
As a critical police accountability tool, will you commit to keeping a thorough Brady database that includes all incidents of officer misconduct fully available to defense?
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Yes
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Did not respond
Unlike most other states, California makes police misconduct records confidential by statute, preventing even prosecutors from looking into the files without first getting a court order. Do you think California should allow public access to records relating to police misconduct?
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No
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Yes
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Did not respond
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Transparency and Accountability
Will you commit to develop and implement a plan to personally, regularly and meaningfully engage and communicate with all constituencies in your county, especially communities of color, the immigrant community, community-based organizations and criminal justice reform advocates, and to involve them in determining the priorities of your office within the first 100 days of your term?
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Yes
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Did not respond
Will you pledge to publish on the Office website all policies, protocols, and MOUs regarding prosecution guidelines, police-involved incidents, bail recommendations, fines and fees, diversion programs, plea bargains, civil asset forfeiture, immigration considerations, and indigency determinations?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
Will you pledge to create/expand a Conviction Integrity Unit and, as part of that process, compare current operations against the guidelines published by the Innocence Project in October 2015?
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Yes
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No
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Did not respond
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