Advocates Remain Optimistic About Criminal Justice Reform (New York Law Journal)
New York Law Journal, November 18, 2016
Advocates Remain Optimistic About Criminal Justice Reform
“While President-elect Donald Trump gave voice to tough-on-crime rhetoric on the campaign trail, some advocates for criminal justice reform are cautiously optimistic that bipartisan support for their efforts may still move forward as Trump assumes office. For some, Trump’s calls in rally speeches for a return to ‘law and order,’ as well as his defense of New York City’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy, signaled that he would turn back the clock on efforts like reducing prison populations and unbinding drug sentences from mandatory minimums. But others note that reform measures that have attracted support from both sides of the aisle may still have a chance with Republicans in control of the White House and Congress and that the federal government is just one venue for efforts to reform the system: reform pushes have long been underway at the state and local levels and have been successful in some jurisdictions. Those who have sounded hopeful that reform efforts will continue under a Trump administration include Carter Burwell, deputy chief counsel to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Roscoe Jones, senior counsel to Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey. Burwell and Jones each spoke on a panel on Tuesday night hosted by the New York City Bar Association….According to a 2015 report from the City Bar, the justice system costs about $260 billion annually, a four-fold increase from 30 years ago.”
