A police group is trying to take away this District Attorney's law license because she will decline to prosecute petty offenses.
Tell the Board and the Bar Counsel to reject this frivolous attack and take no disciplinary action against DA Rollins.
Dear friend,
Rachael Rollins just made history in becoming Suffolk County's first ever Black woman District Attorney--but the National Police Association (NPA) has lodged a legal attack to disbar her before she can even swear in. The police group filed an ethics complaint against her with the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA).1 The baseless claim alleges that her bold and transformative platform to end mass incarceration in and of itself makes her unfit to serve as DA--it’s a load of crap. If the Board decides to revoke her license to practice law she won’t be able to serve in office and enact the crucial changes to the criminal legal system that Black voters in Boston supported at the polls--like declining to prosecute petty offenses, eliminating cash bail under limited circumstances, and reducing racial disparities in the system.
If we can convince the MBA to reject the complaint and decline to take disciplinary action against newly elected DA Rollins, she’ll be able to continue the necessary work of winning justice for Black people within the criminal legal system. We voted her in, now we need to make ourselves heard so she can get to work.
Out of all the major cities in the US, Boston has the widest gap in arrest rates for white and Black victims of violence-- investigations into the killings of white residents are solved at twice the rate of Black residents.2 DA Rollins is enacting policies and practices that will allow her to focus on addressing this disparity and others. Prosecutorial discretion allows for a DA to determine their priorities. DA Rollins' commitment to securing real justice, not just convictions, for overcriminalized communities will have a huge impact for Black people in Suffolk County. Her published list of charges she won’t prosecute will help to stem the flow of Black, brown, and poor people into the prison industrial complex.3
Local police aren’t even complaining about DA Rollins, so who does NPA really represent ?4 The fact of the matter is : police make too many arrests on nonsense charges that have nothing to do with keeping us safe, and DAs have the power not to prosecute those unjust charges. NPA’s absurd claims deflect from the inherent flaws in policing and, in general, the organization represents the failed “tough on crime” policies from the 1990s. Some of their recent work includes lobbying for local and state policies to advance broken window policing, encouraging law enforcement to cooperate with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and facilitating government contracts to private companies for increasing real time police surveillance of overcriminalized people.
District attorneys who were elected to end mass incarceration are being viciously targeted by shadowy police backed groups across the country--and we need to drag them into the light and make sure they can't take justice out of the hands of the people who voted these champions into office. DA Rollins isn’t alone, Larry Krasner in Philadelphia and Wesley Bell in St. Louis are also facing organized opposition for their bold work to transform the criminal legal system. Just before DA Bell was sworn in, members of his staff joined the police union.5 In Philadelphia, DA Krasner’s bail policies have been inaccurately blamed for the rising homicide rate.6 This attempt to strip DA Rollins of her law license, among other similar efforts targeting DAs, is quite a reach and it tells us one thing for sure-- we are winning and the opposition is desperately grasping at straws.
Black communities and our allies have built a movement to replace the worst prosecutors with leaders who want to change the system from the inside out. Just like every other movement that has built power for Black people, this movement is being met with anti-Blackness, right-wing resistance, and dirty tactics intended to keep our communities trapped under the leadership of those who want to see our people in cages. That’s why it’s so important for us to continue to pull together and use our collective voice in support of the changes we need in our communities. This complaint is part of a handful of responses to a shift in the power of district attorneys. We must show our resolve.
Until justice is real,
Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Clarise, Marybeth, Kristen, Anay, Marena, Erika, Tamar, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References :
- "The National Police Association Is Throwing a Fit Over Prosecutorial Discretion." Slate, January 2019. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113904?t=9&akid=22834%2E1942551%2EcHlM0G
- "Murder with Impunity : An Unequal Justice." The Washington Post, July 2018. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113906?t=11&akid=22834%2E1942551%2EcHlM0G
- "Rollins won’t prosecute petty crime." The Bay State Banner, September 2018.
https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113908?t=13&akid=22834%2E1942551%2EcHlM0G - "Rachael Rollins taking a ‘hard look’ at decline-to-prosecute list." Boston Herald, January 2019. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113909?t=15&akid=22834%2E1942551%2EcHlM0G
- "Before criminal justice reformer is even sworn in, St. Louis prosecutors join a police union." The Intercept, December 2018. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113911?t=17&akid=22834%2E1942551%2EcHlM0G
- "Head of Philadelphia Homicide Unit reassigned amid growing murder rate." ABC 6, December 2018.
https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113913?t=19&akid=22834%2E1942551%2EcHlM0G
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.
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