Video

The Anatomy of Discretion (Podcast 2 of 4) Interview with Anne J. Swern

This is the second in a four-part series discussing findings from The Anatomy of Discretion, a Vera Institute study of factors that influence prosecutors’ decisions in criminal cases. In this part, prosecutor Anne J. Swern discusses the effects of resource constraints. Swern is First Assistant District Attorney for Kings County, NY, and serves on the board of directors and the executive committee of the National District Attorneys Association. In other podcasts in this series, one of the study’s authors summarizes its main findings; a federal judge discusses the balance between individualized treatment of defendants and consistency in decision making across similar cases; and a law professor discusses the balance between strength of evidence and other considerations.

Related

10 Stories from Immigrants Seeking Safety in the United States

“We are human beings. Even though we are in another country, we are human beings.”

Jonathan fled El Salvador as a teenager and was eligible to remain in the United States under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, a 1997 law passed to help tens of thousands of Central Americans who fled political instability and violence in the 1980s. Jonathan had never heard of this law and said he would have certainly been ...

News
  • Erica Bryant
    Erica Bryant
February 06, 2025
News

With Seven Deaths in 2025, LA Jails Continue Deadly Trend

82 people have died in LA County jails since the start of 2023.

How are people dying? Los Angeles County has not yet publicly issued causes of death for everyone who has died in county jails in recent months. And even once even once autopsy reports are finalized, they don’t tell the whole story. When the coroner rules that a death is the result of “natural causes,” jail conditions can still be to blame. Researc ...

News
  • Sam McCann
    Sam McCann
February 03, 2025
News

The Labor Market for People with Conviction Histories

An Examination of Access to Good Jobs

Good jobs are the foundation of an equitable economy, one that lifts up workers and families and supports local communities. To access good jobs—those that are in demand and pay a living wage—a postsecondary education is critical. More than 1,000 people are released from state and federal prison every day and many already have a high school educati ...

Publication
  • Kelsie Chesnut, Ruth Delaney, Eurielle Kiki, Niloufer Taber
January 29, 2025
Publication