“In jurisdictions that deploy municipal prosecutors, a reformer county attorney candidate who wins one hyped local election in a heavily populated county simply cannot outright transform criminal justice for the better. Right out of the gate, the decline-to-prosecute policies for nonviolent, low-level offenses that have drawn so much praise and ire in places like Boston and Dallas are impossible, thanks to the continuing jurisdiction of city attorneys over misdemeanors.”
“Looking at a list of charges a municipal prosecutor’s office might issue—and must issue, if it is to justify its continuing existence—it becomes clear that they are all the courtroom version of “broken windows” policing, which is motivated by racism and a desire to siphon money out of poor communities. ”