This webinar on November 30, 2023, featured Dekalb County, Georgia District Attorney Sherry Boston; Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell; Professor Carissa Byrne Hessick, UNC Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of Prosecutors and Politics Project; and IIP’s executive director, Rachel Marshall
Following an increase in the number of prosecutors elected on reform platforms around the country, organized attacks have emerged to limit prosecutorial discretion and undermine the will of voters in choosing their own elected leaders. In Georgia, for example, a new law, SB 92, established a commission with the power to remove locally-elected prosecutors based on their use of discretion. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis suspended two local prosecutors, including Monique Worell, despite them having been elected by their communities. And in many other states, there have been similar efforts to preempt the role of local prosecutors and undermine democracy.
This webinar examined the new attacks on prosecutors across the country, discuss the legality of those attacks, explore the commonalities between them, and discuss the implications of these attacks for democracy.