Fair and Just Prosecution

We’re thrilled to welcome Preston Shipp as our new Director of Advocacy and Policy 🎉 Preston brings not only deep expertise but also powerful personal conviction to the fight for a fairer and more compassionate criminal legal system. A former prosecutor turned national advocate for justice reform, he’s spent years working alongside those directly impacted by our broken criminal legal system to end extreme sentencing and promote second chances. “We’re thrilled to welcome Preston to FJP at a time when our work is more urgent than ever,” said Acting Co-Executive Director of Fair and Just Prosecution Robin Olsen. “His voice will be a tremendous asset as we continue to support leaders across the country working to build a criminal legal system grounded in fairness, equity, and compassion.” We’re honored to have Preston join our team and look forward to the energy and vision he brings to this critical work. Welcome aboard, Preston!

Criminalizing consensual sex work doesn’t make communities safer—it drives people into the shadows, fuels exploitation, and wastes law enforcement resources on the wrong targets. That’s why Fair and Just Prosecution is calling on prosecutors to lead the charge for change. We are proud to unveil a new issue brief and model policy that lays out a bold, evidence-based roadmap for ending the harmful criminalization of sex workers while strengthening protections against trafficking and violence. “Every day, sex workers across the country face violence, exploitation, and a lack of basic human rights—all exacerbated by the laws meant to ‘protect’ them,” said FJP Acting Co-Executive Director Amy Fettig. “By adopting policies that focus on decriminalization, we can better protect vulnerable individuals, improve public health outcomes, and ensure that our limited law enforcement resources are directed toward addressing truly harmful crimes.” These new resources offer prosecutors concrete steps to shift from punishment to harm reduction and public safety, including: ✅ Declining to prosecute consensual sex work ✅ Expunging past convictions to remove barriers to housing and employment ✅ Advocating for reforms that separate sex work from trafficking Leading human rights organizations, public health experts, and a growing majority of Americans agree: criminalization does more harm than good. It’s time for prosecutors and lawmakers to take bold action. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eypjd7Ey

On Friday, President Trump issued a Presidential Memoranda directing AG Pam Bondi and the DOJ to sanction lawyers and law firms that pursue cases antithetical to the Administration’s political interests. The memo directed federal authorities to punish any lawyer or law firm that engages in anything Trump deems “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States,” and promised to sanction any attorneys who challenge any policies set by the federal departments or agencies. President Trump also opened the door to additional criminal penalties outside of sanctions by directing Attorney General Bondi to take “all appropriate action to refer for disciplinary action” against any attorney willing to challenge “cases that implicate national security, homeland security, public safety, or election integrity.” Let’s be clear: this is an attack on the rule of law itself. It’s a direct threat to the independence of the legal profession and a dangerous step toward authoritarianism. FJP’s Acting Co-Executive Director Amy Fettig responded: “President Trump is weaponizing the legal system against the very people and institutions charged with upholding our system of governance and fair play. This is a deliberate political attack and attempt to undermine our democracy and way of life by leaving people who need legal recourse and protection nowhere to turn. The nation and the legal profession should reject this action for what it is - the manipulations of a dictator.” FJP works to promote a criminal legal system dedicated to fairness and compassion informed by the rule of law and our democratic institutions. We remain committed to that mission and call upon others in the legal profession to stand up for the Constitution and the rule of law in these United States. Read our full statement: https://lnkd.in/eDV5CT6X

New York’s parole system is broken, unjust, and fiscally reckless. It keeps thousands of aging New Yorkers behind bars long after they’ve been rehabilitated—draining taxpayer dollars while failing to improve public safety. Instead of endless incarceration, we should be investing in mental health services, housing, and education. A recent report from NYU found that racial disparities in parole decisions have grown by 70% over the past decade—with people of color 32% less likely to be granted parole. This systemic bias cannot stand. The Elder Parole bill and the Fair & Timely Parole Act would help fix this broken system—ensuring fairness, saving New York $522 million annually, and strengthening communities. It’s time for common-sense reform. Read more from former prosecutor and FJP Staff Attorney Christina Green:

Thank you to AP-LS and my amazing co-panelists and moderator Tess M.S. Neal, Joe Hamm and Anthony Perillo, Ph.D. for a fantastic discussion on Eroding Public Trust in Legal Institutions and what we can do about it! A true call to action and awareness!

Are you an innovative prosecutor working towards making the criminal justice system more fair and effective, despite limited resources? We invite you to participate in the 2025 Prosecution Innovation Accelerator, where you will work alongside other prosecutors’ offices from around the country to pilot an innovation in your office. The Accelerator will work with five prosecutor’s offices to address front-end criminal justice system challenges that impact public safety and/or fairness in their jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction will build a team to participate in six virtual sessions (starting in June 2025) and a 3.5 day in-person convening at Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, TN, this fall. It will culminate with each jurisdiction designing a pilot innovation that can be evaluated for impact. As a part of the Accelerator, jurisdictions will be supported in finding and applying for additional funding opportunities to support full implementation of the pilot. Supported by Arnold Ventures, the Accelerator is being led by Justice Innovation Lab (JIL), in collaboration with Prosecution Leaders of Now (PLN), and the Vanderbilt Project on Prosecution Policy (VPOPP). Learn more about the Prosecution Innovation Accelerator here: https://lnkd.in/eassD4FF Jared Fishman Alissa Marque Heydari Patrick Robinson Rory Pulvino Kelli Ross Metz Alesa Lacey

For too long, discussions about failure to appear (FTA) in court have focused almost exclusively on defendants—with this narrative often justifying harmful policies like excessive cash bail and unnecessary pretrial detention. But research from the University of Pennsylvania and University of Virginia challenges that narrative. Analyzing 10 years of Philadelphia court data, researchers found: 🔹In 53% of cases, at least one essential participant—a police officer, civilian witness, or lawyer—failed to appear. 🔹Police officers missed court 31% of the time when subpoenaed. 🔹Defendants failed to appear 19% of the time—less frequently than police. 🔹When police or civilian witnesses failed to show up, cases were twice as likely to be dismissed, resulting in an estimated 32,000 dropped cases over the study period. This research underscores a systemic issue that goes beyond defendants—one that delays justice, weakens public trust, and wastes resources. Instead of using FTA as a reason to expand pretrial detention, we should be addressing the real barriers that prevent all system actors from appearing, including: 🚧 Logistical challenges for witnesses (transportation, work schedules, unclear notifications) 🚔 Overburdened law enforcement officers scheduled in multiple courtrooms at once ⚖️ Defense attorneys juggling excessive caseloads The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Transparency Analytics (DATA) Lab is working to shift this conversation—using data, research, and collaboration to find meaningful solutions. But we need better data collection, stronger coordination, and more engagement with communities to improve this system. Read more in our latest blog post by Oren Gur, Ph.D., a policy advisor, research director, and director of the District Attorney’s Transparency Analytics (DATA) Lab in the Philadelphia District Attorney Office’s (DAO): https://bit.ly/FTABlogPost

We’re excited to share that FJP’s Acting Co-Executive Director Amy Fettig has joined the Plea Bargaining Institute’s Board of Advisors! The Plea Bargaining Institute is a groundbreaking project that provides a global intellectual home for academics, policymakers, advocacy organizations, and practitioners working in the plea bargaining space to share knowledge and collaborate. Plea bargaining is one of the most consequential yet least understood aspects of the criminal legal system, and a research-driven, evidence-based approach is critical to ensure plea bargaining does not undermine the fundamental rights of accused people. We’re thrilled that Amy will contribute to this important work alongside a dedicated team of experts and leaders. Congratulations to all the new board members!

FJP’s Director of Technical Assistance Rebecca Blair recently spoke at an event advocating for Nebraska’s LB215, a bill that would give people serving very long sentences the opportunity to seek a second chance. Her remarks highlighted why extreme sentencing contributes to mass incarceration and why second chances are essential for both justice and public safety. Key takeaways from Rebecca’s speech: ➡️ Lengthy prison sentences have little to no impact on reducing crime. ➡️ Rehabilitation and strong social connections are key to preventing reoffending. ➡️ Most individuals, especially young people, have the capacity to change and deserve the opportunity to rebuild their lives. ➡️ Over-incarceration harms families, communities, and taxpayers while failing to make us safer. Other countries have shown that shorter, rehabilitative sentences lead to safer societies—it's time for the U.S. to follow suit. Nebraska’s LB 215 would be a step toward a smarter, more compassionate criminal legal system.

Thanks to the incredible advocates, allies, scientists, survivors, and community members who gathered to formulate a vision for After the Drug War with Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), Reason Foundation, and Drug Policy Alliance! Truly inspiring!! And wonderful as always to collaborate with the amazing Ronald Simpson-Bey from JustLeadershipUSA