The Institute for Innovation in Prosecution's 2023 Summer Update
July 17, 2023
The IIP has had a busy first half of the year! We wanted to update you on some of our recent work.
New IIP Director
This February, we were thrilled to welcome our new executive director, Rachel Marshall!
Before joining the IIP, Rachel served as Director of Communications and Policy Advisor, as well as an Assistant District Attorney, at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office under San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Rachel played a key role in conceiving and implementing policy, legal, and strategic decisions for the office.
Prior to joining the District Attorney’s Office, Rachel spent more than eight years working as a public defender in Oakland, California, where she litigated felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile cases at all stages of the criminal process.
Rachel graduated from Stanford Law School and Brown University. Following law school, Rachel clerked for the Honorable David O. Carter in the Central District of California. Between college and law school, she spent three years teaching high school U.S. history in the Bronx.
“I am thrilled to be leading the IIP and to support prosecutors in implementing evidence-based reforms that make communities safer. Too often, criminal justice reform has been framed as antithetical to public safety—when in fact criminal justice reform drives public safety. I am eager to work with prosecutors with a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and political ideologies in implementing data-driven policies. I can think of no more critical time to do this work than now and no better place to do it than at John Jay College.”
- Rachel Marshall, IIP Executive Director
You can read the full press release here.
Launch of State Attorneys General
Police Oversight and Accountability Network
In partnership with Arnold Ventures, we launched a new project focused on state attorneys general and their role in police oversight. Our project has created a formal network of attorneys general and their staff members from around the country to share resources, ideas, and strategies around police accountability. We’ve held two convenings (one virtual and one in person) to launch this project.
In June, we hosted a convening in NYC of attorneys general and staff members, family members who lost loved ones to police violence, policing experts, law enforcement members, academics, and other key stakeholders for two days of sessions exploring various ways for attorneys general to play a key role in police accountability work. We were inspired by the positive response and the clear need for this project.
Thank you to our wonderful project advisory board for guiding us throughout this work: Former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan; Former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey; Hassan Aden, Former Chief of Police, Greenville, NC; Jill Habig, founder and president of Public Rights Project; Natashia Tidwell, Partner at Mintz; and Chuck Wexler, Executive Director of Police Executive Research Forum. Thank you as well to Lynne Ross for infinite guidance along the way.
Webinars
As more communities have elected district attorneys who are using their discretion to advance reform, there have been unprecedented attacks on prosecutorial discretion. In May, executive director Rachel Marshall moderated a conversation on the future of prosecutorial discretion with District Attorney George Gascón (Los Angeles); District Attorney Mark Dupree (Wyandotte County, Kansas); Distinguished Professor of Law Angela J. Davis of American University Washington School of Law; and Professor of Law David Sklansky of Stanford Law School.
Our discussion focused on the systemic impact of prosecutorial discretion, strategies for successfully and equitably wielding this authority, and potential responses to the ongoing efforts to restrict prosecutors’ independence.
You can watch the full discussion here.
In June, we marked the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision with a webinar focused on reproductive justice and guiding prosecutors in how to respond to the attacks on reproductive healthcare access.
IIP Executive director Rachel Marshall moderated a discussion with Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor (Henrico County, Virginia); Professor of Law Kimberly Mutcherson, Rutgers Law School; and Dr. Kristyn Brandi, OBGYN Physician & Darney-Landy Fellow at ACOG. The conversation focused on educating prosecutors about the medical science of reproductive healthcare, the state of the law, and strategies towards advancing reproductive justice by promoting healthy and safe access to care for all communities.
You can watch the full discussion here.
IIP Opinions
Our executive director, Rachel Marshall, published an op-ed in the New York Law Journal, “Attacks on Prosecutors Put Politics Over Safety.” In her piece, Rachel defended Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg from attacks on his discretion in prosecuting former President Donald Trump. Rachel linked the attacks on DA Bragg to other legislative efforts to reduce or eliminate prosecutorial discretion around the country, including Georgia’s SB 92, which has now been signed into law.
“Critics of reform have spent years dishonestly claiming that reform prosecutors refuse to prosecute crimes, and they are all too happy to invert that argument when they don’t like who is being charged. The inconsistency of the anti-reform argument reveals the truth: attacks on reform prosecutors have nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with politics.”
- Rachel Marshall, IIP Executive Director
You can read Rachel’s full piece here.
Staff Updates:
The IIP is thrilled to welcome Noah McKee as our new Project & Communications Associate!
Prior to joining the IIP, Noah worked for Everytown for Gun Safety, where he provided communications support for a number of grassroots campaigns, including national secure firearm storage education campaigns. He has a diverse background, including voter organizing and public service in foster care, as well as advocacy in financial equity and student loan debt forgiveness.
Noah graduated from Duke University, where he studied political science and African & African American studies.
Welcome Noah!
We are also sad to bid farewell to our policy associate, Kelsey Russom, who is heading to graduate school to pursue a Master of Science in Social Policy and a Data Analytics for Social Policy Certificate at the University of Pennsylvania this month. Kelsey was a beloved member of the IIP team, coordinating our recent events, convenings, and projects and always contributing great energy, creativity, and enthusiasm to the IIP. Kelsey will be deeply missed, but we are excited for her next chapter and she will continue to be a part of the IIP family.
Future Work
The work of the IIP has never felt more urgent. We are committed to supporting prosecutors around the country in serving their communities by promoting safety, equity, and justice.
Stay tuned for information about more of our current and future projects and don’t hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance.
Have a safe and joyful summer,
The IIP Team
