A Conversation with The Marshall Project’s Keri Blakinger and COVID-19’s Impact

A felony conviction potentially devastates one's ability to fully participate in society, and rarely does this burden fall on the convicted alone. In this episode, we explore the challenges of collateral consequences, recidivism, and re-entry following extended periods of incarceration. Arthur Rizer and Emily Mooney of the R Street Institute provide insight on how policy can be better crafted to enhance public safety, while also promoting second chance opportunities for those with a criminal record. LINKS:Arthur Rizer - R Street Institute - Director, Criminal Justice & Civil Liberties; Resident Senior FellowEmily Mooney - R Street Institute - Resident Fellow & Manager, Criminal Justice & Civil LibertiesR Street Institute

Healing Justice, an organization dedicated to addressing harm caused by wrongful convictions, released a web-based resource portal for victims and survivors of crime who are impacted and revictimtized by post-conviction claims of innocence and exonerations. The portal is also meant to be a resource for prosecutors, law enforcement, and victim advocates who are involved with these cases so that they can take a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach to ensuring that crime victims are notified of and updated on post-conviction processes.This portal, Post-Conviction Survivor Resources, is a part of the Responding to Original Victims in Wrongful Conviction Cases project, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime.In this episode of Legal Briefs, NDAA speaks with Healing Justice’s Katie Monroe, Executive Director, and Kristina (Kris) Rose, Director of Strategic Partnerships—both were instrumental in the efforts of this important project.LINKS:Post-Conviction Survivor ResourcesHealing JusticeOffice for Victims of Crime, US DOJKatie Monroe, Executive Director of Healing JusticeKristina Rose, Director of Strategic Partnerships 

CNA and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) have partnered to actively develop and disseminate useful COVID-19 response resources to prosecutors and courts to support them during this trying time. This series will address newly identified issues and innovative responses. With the pandemic looming, court systems across the country are being forced to adapt to a new reality. In some courts, vacant conference rooms are being used to help spread out jurors so that they may deliberate at a safe distance. But other courts aren't as lucky with having underutilized space and are instead experimenting with conducting trials virtually. Each option presents its own set of unique operational challenges.In this episode of COVID-19 Legal Briefs, Nelson Bunn, Executive Director of the NDAA sat down with Christine A. Hoffman, the Acting Prosecutor of Gloucester County, New Jersey to discuss the letter she wrote disputing the Gloucester County court’s decision to conduct domestic violence contempt trials virtually.Links:NDAA Covid 19 ResourcesChristine Hoffman, Acting County Prosecutor, Gloucester County, NJCNA

Our country battles an ongoing opioid epidemic. In New Jersey, Acting Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo of Union County, has been working hard to fight the crisis by providing addiction recovery services to those who have been arrested for low-level possessory offenses. The effort in Union County is called Operation Helping Hand 24/7/365.Operation Helping Hand started as a five-day, once-a-year event in counties across New Jersey where access to immediate and free recovery services is offered to anyone arrested for a low-level opioid offense. Earlier this year, Prosecutor Ruotolo expanded the program with the help of local nonprofit, Prevention Links, to operate year-round and 24-hours-a-day. In this episode, she shares with us how Operation Helping Hand 24/7/365  has evolved, what implications the coronavirus pandemic has on the program, and more.LINKS:Lyndsay V. Ruotolo, Acting Prosecutor of Union County, NJPrevention LinksOperation Helping Hand 24/7/365 Announcement

Earlier this week, Legal Briefs spoke with a criminal justice reporter with firsthand experience from the prisoners' perspective: Keri Blakinger, currently a writer at The Marshall Project, and most recently at the Houston Chronicle covering criminal justice and the death penalty. Prior to her career in journalism, Keri spent two years behind bars in a New York State prison. She spoke with us about her experience, and both how COVID-19  impacts prisons and jails in the short-term as well as how the virus may shape the system in the years ahead. We’ll also explore how mass incarceration, bond reform, visitation rights, and prison programming might look after the pandemic ends. LINKS:Keri Blakinger, writer, The Marshall ProjectEpisode page on NDAA's Medium blog

Youth enter the juvenile justice system often for minor offenses. Something is unraveling in their personal lives, such as running away from an abusive home or coping with their parents’ divorce. But formally processing these youth in the justice system can lead to an increase in negative behaviors.In this episode, Scott Peterson, CEO of Global Youth Justice, speaks with us about his own experience working with troubled youth through implementing and improving youth diversion programs. He  shares with us how the prosecutorial community has been helpful in assisting the youth. District attorneys are often the catalyst for implementing these programs in their local communities in the first place.Global Youth Justice is a nonprofit that champions more than 1,800 youth-led and volunteer-driven youth diversion programs. Having implemented programs on five continents, Global Youth Justice is the most replicated juvenile justice and youth justice program around the globe. To get involved, visit https://www.globalyouthjustice.org/get-involved/LINKS:Scott Peterson, CEO of Global Youth JusticeGlobal Youth JusticeLocal programs by stateAdditional resources from Global Youth Justice

Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert is the first prosecutor ever to have used investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) to successfully crack a criminal case. You may have heard of the Golden State Killer—or the East Side Rapist, the Visalia Ransacker, the Original Night Stalker, the Diamond Knot Killer...After more than 40 years and countless investigations by hundreds of law enforcement professionals, Joseph James DeAngelo was finally identified—thanks to some DNA and an online genealogy database. In this episode, hear Anne Marie talk about IGG as a revolutionary new tool that can solve violent crimes and have a meaningful impact on human rights.LINKS:Anne Marie Schubert, District Attorney, Sacramento County, California AttorneyNew York Times: How a Genealogy Site Led to the Front Door of the Golden State Killer SuspectNDAA Medium Blog

No state is immune to the vaping epidemic impacting our youth. Teenagers everywhere have been hospitalized due to illnesses brought on by vaping and other e-cigarette use. Kids use the e-cigarettes to vape in school bathrooms, between classes, and even right in class. These devices are disguised as USB devices, lipsticks and even asthma inhalers, making them easy to conceal and overlook. Some teens are admitted into the ICU. Some even die.As a public official, Ashley Rich, District Attorney of Mobile County, Alabama, found this public health crisis alarming and entirely unacceptable. Tune into this inaugural episode of Legal Briefs to hear from Ashley how she worked with the state to restrict youth's access to vaping.LINKS:Ashley Rich, District Attorney, Mobile County, AlabamaNDAA Medium Blog