Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Alvin Bragg for Manhattan District Attorney
Candidate Name: Alvin Bragg
Office Seeking Election for: Manhattan District Attorney
1. Response to crimes of violence
There is widespread consensus that low-level, non-violent crimes do not belong in the criminal justice system. But what about violent crimes? Do you think that people accused of violent crimes should be dealt with in the criminal system? How should these cases be handled?
Violent crimes should absolutely be dealt with in the criminal legal system, but our approach needs to evolve beyond a simple evaluation of how lengthy a period of incarceration is appropriate for each case, and focus on achieving outcomes that actually make our communities safer. As a city and as a country, we have seen that policies of mass incarceration are not only deeply immoral, they also do not make us safer; indeed, our jails and prison populations have declined dramatically at the same time that our crime rates have reached record lows. We need to move away from these antiquated notions of mass incarceration and find new ways to address violent crimes.
This does not mean I oppose incarceration for certain serious violent felonies, such as homicide and rape. However, these cases make up a small minority of the “violent felonies” the Manhattan District Attorney prosecutes, and for the majority of these other “violent felony” cases the default position of my office will be to offer a non-incarceratory disposition. Assistant District Attorneys will need to write a full memo, subject to supervisory approval, in order to seek pretrial detention or an incarceratory plea offer. Instead, our default will be to offer programming that addresses the unique needs of each individual, offering those charged or convicted with violent crimes the opportunity for rehabilitation. Furthermore, I will use the asset forfeiture funds this office has at its disposal to fund even more of these types of programs, particularly those focused on restorative justice. Restorative justice programs recognize something DAs have known for years: those charged with crimes are often themselves the victims of trauma. The current Manhattan DA’s policy of sending these individuals to jail or prison for short periods of time only exacerbates this trauma and makes these individuals more likely to recidivate upon their release. We need to break these cycles of recidivism by addressing the underlying causes of violent behavior.
Not everyone will take full advantage of these programming opportunities, of course, but to do otherwise would be to simply accept the status quo: sending people to jail or prison for short periods of time knowing that when they are released they will be more likely to commit crimes. These reactionary policies not only make communities less safe, they undermine confidence in our justice system; after all, nobody wants to see Kalief Browder spend 3 years in jail for the “violent” crime of stealing a backpack. By committing to non-incarceratory solutions to most, but not all, “violent” crimes, we will make our communities safer and restore faith in our criminal justice system.
2. Police accountability
How will you hold police accountable for misconduct? Does the DA have a role in cases where the conduct does not rise to the level of a crime?
I have brought criminal charges against a police officer for murder, an FBI agent for lying, and a District Attorney for failing to conduct an appropriate investigation of a shooting by a police officer. Nobody else in this race can say that. Drawing on this experience I will, as a first step, create an independent bureau charged solely with handling these cases, which will be staffed with prosecutors who have no cases working with the NYPD. They therefore will not be influenced by the need to work closely with police officers as part of their day-to-day duties. This independent bureau will report directly to me or one of the three most senior lawyers in the office. Second, I will require this bureau to file a comprehensive report for each case it investigates. We cannot regain the public trust that the police can be held accountable without informing them of the steps we take in this process. Even though grand jury proceedings are secret, we would still be able to publish all sorts of relevant evidence in these cases, including crime scene photos, firearm tests, autopsy reports, and body camera videos. Finally, I will advocate for changes to state law that hold officers to a higher standard than what is known as the “reasonable officer” standard, which currently allows officers to escape accountability for unjustified misconduct, including killing unarmed civilians. As I wrote in an op-ed last year, the laws governing these cases, including in New York, need to change. These cases often turn on a self-defense argument: If an officer reasonably believes deadly force is necessary to save his or her own life, then the officer may lawfully use deadly force. New laws should make it clear that “necessary” means that the officer exhausted all other options and had no reasonable alternative to the use of deadly force. In other words, “necessary” means absolutely necessary. This change underscores the gravity of an officer’s decision to use deadly force. It would also likely affect prosecutors’ decisions to charge officers and, ultimately, decisions by juries to convict.
It is not sufficient for a District Attorney to act only when officers commit actual crimes, and turn our heads when encountering other transgressions. We trust police to carry deadly weapons and wield the power to take away our most fundamental liberties, which means we must hold them to the highest standards possible. No District Attorney can discipline an officer directly, but my office will refuse to work with officers who commit misconduct that impairs the administration of justice, forcing the NYPD to address these issues meaningfully. My office will not be complicit in tolerating police misconduct in any form.
3. Community engagement
A lot of DAs talk about working with the community in dealing with issues of public safety. But in many cases those most impacted by the criminal justice system do not trust law enforcement and don't want to be engaged. First, do you believe community engagement is important to public safety, and if so, how do you intend to overcome the community's distrust of law enforcement?
There is a common phrase among assistant district attorneys: today’s defendant is tomorrow’s victim, and was yesterday’s witness. How can we expect crime victims or witnesses to cooperate with us when we treat them without dignity or respect during our previous interactions with them? The first step towards breaking these destructive cycles, of course, is enacting policies that treat everyone, from crime victims to witnesses to defendants, with dignity and respect. We simply cannot reflexively dole out incarceratory sentences to people for conduct having nothing to do with public safety and expect any of those same people to work with us when they are victims or witnesses.
However, unless the office is consistently and clearly communicating these policy changes to the wider community, we will not regain their trust. This is why meaningful community engagement, particularly with those communities most impacted by crime, is a critical component of public safety. Given the bad relationship between this office and the communities most impacted by crime, any new Manhattan District Attorney will face an uphill battle gaining the trust of these communities. However, unlike every other candidate in this race, I can build the trust of these communities not as an outsider, but as a member myself. I grew up in Harlem. I was repeatedly stopped and frisked by the NYPD as a teenager, including three times at gunpoint. I have been shot at and held at gunpoint by people who were not police officers, and I have supported a close family member who moved in with me post-incarceration after having been held in solitary confinement and having witnessed a drug-related murder. I can relate to those who have had similar experiences like no other candidate. Therefore, I can build community trust like no other candidate.
More specifically: I will work with community groups, neighborhood leaders, faith based leaders, and community activists to understand concerns, develop solutions, and make changes. As I have done my entire life, I will listen to and work alongside community partners. I will hold neighborhood listening sessions because the announcement of an indictment shouldn’t be the only time people see their DA. I will make it a priority for ADAs to do the same, and the evaluation and promotion process will include the extent of an ADAs’ community involvement. This priority will be made clear during the hiring process. We also will hire non-lawyers focused exclusively on community engagement. The result of these initiatives will be an office rooted in our communities that reflects the diversity of our communities. Community engagement will be a top priority.
4. DA's role in shaping the future of policing
There is a lot of talk about re-shaping the police department, even defunding or replacing the PD. And Governor Cuomo has called on cities to submit plans for how there are re-imagining policing. Do you believe the police department should be defunded? Reformed? What do you think is the DA's role in these conversations?
The District Attorney does have a critical role to play in these issues, because decisions on what we decline to prosecute leads directly to how the NYPD deploys resources. For example, arrests for turnstile jumping declined significantly after the District Attorneys stopped prosecuting most of them. The priorities I will set as District Attorney – focusing on more serious cases and diverting less serious cases out of the criminal legal system altogether – will necessarily lead to changes in policing.
As I wrote in a Median article in June, we must undo Mayor de Blasio’s more-than-$1 billion expansion of the NYPD’s budget and use those funds to invest in critical social service programs.
I learned early that investing in people and communities is the cornerstone for true public health and safety. Perhaps equally as important, my experiences as a state and federal prosecutor confirmed these early lessons. We can have better, more effective law enforcement and less policing.
The starting point is to look at where police officers spend their time. In Boston, until changes by the recently-elected DA, more than 60% of the most-commonly charged crimes were for low-level, non-violent conduct. While New York’s opaque public reporting means that we do not have ready access to the same numbers here, anecdotal evidence tells us that the NYPD is spending an inordinate amount of time on cases that do not make us safer.
We need this shift in focus for mental health issues, the homeless, and our schools. We want the police to respond to, and investigate, incidents of real violence. To the extent that their budget is dedicated to responding to persons acting out of mental illness, or being in charge of solving the city’s homelessness problem, or making arrests for stealing $2.75 from the MTA, or making arrests for social distancing violations, then I believe those funds can better be spent elsewhere. The police spend countless resources in elaborate undercover narcotics operations only to arrest drug users who do nothing more than act as a middleman between the real dealer and the undercover officer. They never even bother to seek out the dealer.[1] This is part of the reason why we have 2 justice systems in this city, one for the rich and one for the poor. The current DA exacerbates this inequity. He asks for multi-year prison sentences for poor folks who steal cat litter and soap from multi-billion dollar corporations,[2] yet declines to prosecute rich people like Harvey Weinstein even after they confess to sexual assault.[3] When I become DA, we will not go after the “soft targets” such as the drug users who facilitate street sales of small quantities of drugs just to score an extra hit, we will go after the harder targets of the large-scale drug distributors. I have prosecuted large scale operations and the kinds of complicated white collar cases the incumbent has failed to do for too long. For example, as a federal prosecutor, I prosecuted the owner of a $30M business that laundered millions of dollars that helped finance a violent international drug trafficking organization.
5. Increase in shootings
After years of declines, shootings and homicides have spiked this year. What do you think are the causes of this spike, and how will you drive these shootings down and restore a sense of safety to the community?
I know personally the trauma that gun violence can cause entire communities. As I stated in an op-ed earlier this year, I had a gun pointed at me six times growing up, and I can feel the pain the current crisis is having in my home neighborhood in Harlem. I can also still feel the pain of years of that stop-and-frisk caused, and reject any movement towards increased police patrols or “broken windows” policing as a response to these shootings.
Regaining the trust of Manhattanites means our District Attorney must be honest, and I cannot honestly promise the people of this borough that I can single handedly solve the crisis of shootings and homicides. I fully believe that new strategies by a new District Attorney will help drive crime down, but it is well established that fundamental societal issues like poverty have a dramatic impact on crime trends. So it should not surprise us that perhaps the greatest upheaval of societal norms in a lifetime, accompanied by sudden and drastic economic decline, would lead to increases in crime here, and in cities across the country. What I can promise is to be part of the solution, which must be community-based. As I have written, community groups, including religious institutions, are the backbones of our neighborhoods. Community-driven efforts like Cure Violence programming have a tremendous track record of reducing gun violence. These community-based solutions must be the core of our response to these shootings.
We also cannot truly address our gun crisis without addressing the fact that over 90% of handguns recovered in New York City come from out of state. As a federal prosecutor and chief deputy Attorney General, I focused on large-scale narcotics and gun trafficking. As District Attorney I would take the same approach to gun violence, targeting gun traffickers and stopping the flow of guns into our communities.
6. Culture change
Candidates talk about the reforms they want to implement, but reform cannot happen unless the ADAs in the office are willing to go along. How will you manage culture change in the DA's office knowing that there are people working there who may disagree with your policies, and in some cases may actively try to sabotage your efforts at reform?
As the Chief Deputy Attorney General, I managed a staff of 1200, and I know how to implement policy changes, both popular and unpopular. I’ve hired people, and also fired people. My plan is to install senior managers at the most critical decision-making points who report either directly to me or to my chief deputies. This is particularly critical at the earliest stages of a case, when we choose whether to prosecute or not, and if so whether to seek pretrial detention. These senior managers will be responsible for ensuring that any staffer who may disagree with a new policy implements it anyway, and can bring to my attention instances in which staffers consistently undermine or sabotage reform efforts; those staffers will be replaced.
We will also establish new metrics to evaluate success and promotion. Reliance on conviction rates to measure success in any prosecutor’s office is problematic and invariably results in the over-prosecution of easily proven crimes and the under-prosecution of more challenging crimes.
Though the primary driver of change will be senior managers directly monitoring policy implementation, I also will use robust internal computerized monitoring. Rigorously evaluating metrics relating to cases will allow me to monitor policy implementation both qualitatively and quantitatively. The combination of these efforts will ensure that my new policies are effectively implemented.
7. Ethics
What is your view of the ethical obligations of prosecutors? Do they go beyond the ABA rules? How will you set ethical standards for the DA's office and how will you ensure that they are internalized and adhered to by your ADAs?
I take the obligations for DAs extremely seriously. I sued and criminally prosecuted a sitting District Attorney.
The ABA rules set minimum standards, but New York City should hold itself to a far higher standard and set a model to the nation, as we do in so many other respects. I have demonstrated my commitment to going beyond the minimum standards in my fundraising practices, where we refuse to take money from police unions, lobbyists, corporations or attorneys that have or had cases before the Manhattan District Attorney in the last 4 years despite being permitted to do so. I also self-restrict donations from any lawyer active in New York to 10% of the permitted NY limit. My standards as District Attorney would be guided by consultations with academics and other experts. I also will consult with those like the Exonerated Central Park Five or any of the other exonerees who served prison time for crimes they did not commit.
Implementing these higher standards is not quantitative, and monitoring their effectiveness cannot be done by crunching numbers. Periodic ethical checks by senior managers will help ensure compliance, but the only way to truly achieve the highest level of ethical practice is through developing a culture that rejects competitive ruthlessness and a goal of “winning” cases. I will institute a culture focused on just processes as well as just outcomes, a culture that prizes compassion, empathy, and dignity for crime victims, witnesses, and also those charged with crimes. Promotions will be based on these metrics, not on conviction rates. Approaching cases with this attitude makes ethical compliance a natural byproduct of the practice, rather than annoying rules that must be worked around to achieve victories.
8. Shrinking the criminal justice system
Many advocates argue that the criminal justice system has become too large, costing too much money and playing too large a role in responding to society's problems. Do you agree? If so, does this mean that the role of prosecutors should also be smaller? Should prosecutors' offices be defunded?
The fact that Manhattan leads the way in jail sentences for misdemeanors is a stain on the borough, and is the reason why so many people rightly believe that the system is too large. Nobody would say that a system that addresses only murders and rapes is “too large,” but a system that keeps those struggling with mental health issues or drug addiction in jail is clearly too large.
When it comes to misdemeanors, our approach should be less punitive, but the problem is that the traditional criminal justice system is designed at its core to dole out punitive punishments and not address root issues like substance use disorder and poverty. This is why my policy will be to divert these cases outside the traditional criminal court processes. Under the new bail laws, those charged with most misdemeanors are released from police custody for a few weeks before making their first court appearance. This gives DAs a perfect opportunity to divert these cases into programming and other non-traditional options and avoid having the person ever set foot in a courtroom. These types of programming already exist, and I pledge to use the office’s asset forfeiture funds to expand them. I will institute a policy in which the default outcome for most of these cases will be this type of programming. Of course, these programs need to be monitored for compliance, which requires prosecutorial resources, but to the extent that these programs require less resources than the traditional model, I would divert these resources to address more serious cases. This is not “defunding,” it is redeploying resources so that it can focus on serious instances of violence on which most Manhattanites believe the system should focus, including under prosecuted crimes like sexual assault.
9. Race and the DA's office
Racial justice advocates believe that DA's offices should be reflective of the communities they serve, and that it is crucial that the DA's office have attorneys of color, as line ADAs, as supervisors and at the highest levels of leadership. Do you agree, and if so how will you insure that the DA's office is one that attracts, retains and promotes people of color at every level?
There have only been 3 people elected District Attorney in the last 78 years. We need people in that office that personally understand the injustices and inequalities that are baked into the criminal justice system. And that starts at the top.
I have repeatedly said that as a Black man who grew up in Harlem, I have a unique perspective on what it means to be a District Attorney. That same principle applies to line ADAs, supervisors, and every level of the DA’s office.
In the Attorney General’s office I managed an office of 1200, and I started a new unit from scratch to address police killings of civilians. In both cases, I worked to put together staff that reflected a diversity of people and perspectives. My first hire for the new unit was an experienced prosecutor who had a graduate degree in social work. Another early member of the team was a prosecutor who volunteers her time teaching yoga to people in custody. This hiring approach also extended beyond lawyers to community organizers and social workers, who were key to the work we did. I will also prioritize hiring of survivors of crime and those who have reentered. I have learned a lot from casework, but I have learned the most key lessons from friends and family who have experienced the system firsthand. In short, in order to have a system focused on human dignity and fairness, we need a diverse office that reflects the diversity of Manhattan. We cannot have an office that sees witnesses, victims, and those charged with crimes as whole persons if we do not have hiring and retention practices that value job candidates as whole persons.
10. Post-conviction justice
Do you believe the DA has a continuing obligation to do justice in cases where someone has been convicted and sentenced? What would you do as DA in such cases?
There have been far too many stories of innocent people being exonerated after spending years in prison, often because of issues about which DAs either knew or should have known. DA Vance has a “conviction integrity unit” but it has apparently exonerated roughly 7 people in its 10 years of existence (we do not know for sure because of this unit’s lack of transparency).[4]
Wrongful convictions are the height of injustice. They ruin lives and undermine trust in our criminal justice system. While district attorneys across the country have established effective conviction integrity units to review past convictions, Cy Vance has not. I’m proud to have the support of Lu-Shawn Thompson, whose late husband Ken Thompson pioneered this effort in Brooklyn.
As Manhattan DA, I will create an independent, transparent unit that reports directly to me and follow the guidance of The Innocence Project.[5] . It will include voices outside the DA’s office, including defense attorneys, community leaders and exonerees. No prosecutor will be allowed to review a conviction in which they previously were involved. It will have a broad, flexible scope, and have clear, standardized and publicized criteria for reviewing cases. And it will immediately look into the cases of Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor responsible for the false prosecution of the exonerated Central Park Five, who also oversaw hundreds of cases during her tenure in the Manhattan DA’s office. (Please see my op-ed on this in the Amsterdam News.)
I also firmly believe that the DA’s Office has an obligation to help those it prosecuted to reenter. As I said in a recent op-ed, this is not only the right thing to do, it also will reduce recidivism. I support the Less Is More Act, and I oppose incarceration for technical violations of parole. I would use the weight of the DA’s Office to advance this view. I also would use the office’s asset forfeiture funds to help those reentering with employment and housing opportunities.
11. Decriminalization of Sex Work
Do you favor decriminalization of sex work? Do you support the legislation sponsored by State Senators Julia Salazar and Jessica Ramos (A8230/S6419)
I will absolutely not prosecute any persons accused of selling sex, and support the repeal of any laws on this topic, including the infamous “walking while trans” prohibition in Penal Law section 240.37. As for those who buy sex, I have no interest in prosecuting anybody engaged in consensual sex. Unfortunately, an examination of the racial and economic backgrounds of those engaged in buying and selling sex in many of the cases in which the Police Department makes arrests suggest a troubling power imbalance. I am concerned that a relatively well-off white person buying sex from a relatively poor person of color acting out of desperation is a substantially different interaction than that same person engaging in a commercial transaction like buying groceries. I am also concerned that refusing to prosecute those who purchase sex may inadvertently lead to a better market for sex trafficking. These issues require a deep and thoughtful examination, as does the bill proposed by Senators Salazar and Ramos. I am continuing toe research this issue, meeting with and listening to sex workers and those involved in this system, and will do more in the coming months.
12. Nordic Model
Will you actively oppose legislation that would implement the dangerous Nordic model instead of decriminalization of prostitution?
As per my response above, I am continuing to listen and learn on this issue.
13. Record Relief Legislation
Do you support the Record Relief legislation which would expand the relief available to survivors of human trafficking? (A06983/S04981 and A9040/S2144)
Yes. The original legislation permitting the expungement of convictions caused by sex trafficking was an important step in acknowledging the challenges faced by survivors of sex trafficking in modern society. I support expanding that law to cover more survivors, and permitting their applications to be made more easily and with more privacy protections. My office would seek to support applications made under CPL § 440.10(1)(i) by default as a matter of policy.
14. Walking While Trans
Do you support Walking While Trans legislation the state legislature? (A00654/S02253)
I support repealing Penal Law 240.37 as soon as possible and will not prosecute any arrests for this offense if it is still on the books when I become District Attorney.
15. Supervised Consumption Spaces
Do you support the establishment of supervised drug consumption spaces?
The evidence is clear from multiple jurisdictions across the world that supervised drug consumption spaces save lives.[6] Even the CDC supports them.[7] I follow the lead of the experts and fully support the establishment of supervised drug consumption spaces.
16. Elder Parole
Do you support the “elder parole” legislation which provides seniors 55 years and older, who have served 15 years in prison, the right to apply for parole? (A9040/S2144)
Yes. This is a common sense way to reduce mass incarceration, but while it is a step in the right direction, it still relies on the parole board to actually release newly eligible people. That same board has documented racial biases, and antiquated notions of what constitutes true rehabilitation, and true public safety risks. Pairing this legislation with meaningful parole board reform would do much more to reduce the harmful impacts of mass incarceration than passing this bill alone.
17. Hiring Practice
Will you affirmatively seek to hire formerly incarcerated individuals?
Definitely. I have worked as a criminal defense lawyer, a civil rights lawyer, and a state and federal prosecutor. But, the most impactful things that I have learned about our criminal system have been from my brother-in-law, who served a period of incarceration, and then lived with my wife and me during reentry. Whether it was from being in solitary confinement, witnessing the murder of his best friend during a drug transaction, or trying to find employment post-incarceration, I learned so much from his experiences and being a part of helping him navigate the system. His experiences -- and the experiences of a number of family members and friends -- are always central for me in the work that I do. I want to make sure that these voices are not just heard by me, but that they are made a part of the work of the DA’s Office and listened to by the entire office. Hiring formerly incarcerated persons and integrating them fully into the work of the office is the only way to accomplish this.
18. Demonstrations and Protests
a. Have you participated in any demonstrations or protests in relation to the issues of clemency and parole?
b. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBT issues, pro choice legislation, criminal justice issues and the Resist Trump Movement have you attended?
My first protest was as a kid with my church in Harlem growing up. We painted over billboards in Harlem that displayed negative stereotypes of African-Americans and targeted us for harmful products. Since that time, I have been involved in a number of marches and protest activity throughout my life: from leading a march in college about the beating of Rodney King to more recently as an adult in New York, protests specifically supporting gay pride, reproductive rights, environmental justice, the Black Lives Matter movement, the treatment of unsheltered persons. I also have participated in protests related to a wide range of criminal justice issues, including the repeal of Civil Rights Law 50-a and conviction integrity/exonerations.
19. Solitary Confinement
Do you oppose solitary confinement? Do you support the HALT Solitary Confinement Act (S. 1623/A.2500)
I oppose solitary confinement and support the HALT Act. Not only has the United Nations defined it as torture, but all the data we have indicates that the practice actually makes jails and prisons less safe. But for me this is not just about analyzing data, it is personal. My brother-in-law was in solitary confinement. As noted above, I helped him navigate the system and he lived with my wife and me post-incarceration. One of the most poignant things we talked about was the Hobson’s Choice that landed him in solitary confinement: fight for his dinner one of his first meals while incarcerated or not eat and face the prospect of having his meals repeatedly taken from him by other people he was incarcerated with. He chose to fight. And, as he told me, he was then put in solitary confinement where the only things he could do for days on end were pushups and reading the Bible. No one should be treated this way. As District Attorney, I would not have any direct authority over correctional practices, but I would have the ultimate duty to keep Manhattan as safe as possible, and I simply cannot do that effectively when people being released from correctional facilities to the streets of Manhattan have suffered this sort of trauma. It is therefore incumbent on me and all District Attorneys to take a strong stand on this issue. Solitary confinement is torture, and it must end.
20. Sanctuary City
What proposals will you advocate for to protect immigrants and further New York as a Sanctuary City?
I fully support the Protect Our Courts Act and urge Governor Cuomo to sign it. Our courts need to be safe spaces for witnesses, defendants, and their family members, and ICE’s presence in them undermines the rule of law.
As to District Attorney practices, it is critical that every person who is a victim of crime is willing to report it to law enforcement and every witness be willing to discuss what they’ve seen with law enforcement without fear of being picked up by ICE.
Unfortunately, our current federal regime has taken every step possible to alienate and intimidate immigrant communities, and it is understandable that these communities would conflate local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities. As Chief Deputy Attorney General, I sued the federal government when it tried to punish New York City for being a Sanctuary City
Many know that local law prohibits the NYPD and local jails from releasing most people to ICE’s custody, and it’s imperative that they also know that their District Attorney’s offices will never report them or any of their loved ones to ICE. That includes people charged with crimes. There have been numerous reported instances of assistant district attorneys across the city reporting defendants to ICE, and that makes domestic violence and other crime victims afraid to report their abusers. I pledge to never report any person to ICE, including defendants and to hire community liaisons to our immigrant communities to make sure that message is getting through. My office will also take into account the immigration consequences of charging someone with a crime and of any sentences.
21. Determinations of Parole
Do you believe sincere remorse, risk of reoffending and actions taken while incarcerated should be considered over the original crime in determinations of parole? Will you have a general policy of writing letters of support to the Parole Board for people convicted in New York County when they become eligible for release from prison?
Yes and yes. My office will take an active role in cases through the parole process, including writing letters of support to the parole board as a default position for every parole-eligible case. There will be exceptions to this default rule for those who pose particular and unique risks of violence, but I believe it is critical for District Attorneys to view their role more holistically; if a case is worth sending a person to prison for, it is worth following up and taking an active role throughout the process. This is why I argued in an op-ed last year that District Attorneys should actively help people find jobs after periods of incarceration. Our duty to public safety does not end when a conviction is secured, it continues through the parole board and beyond.
22. Visiting Correctional Facilities
Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated in state prisons such as Bedford Correctional Facility to assist in bids for parole?
Yes. I have visited jail and prison facilities both as a criminal defense lawyer and a prosecutor. I have sued a local jail because of its health conditions and prosecuted a medical professional who failed to do his job at a juvenile detention facility.
It is vitally important for prosecutors to visit prisons. I will require all Assistant District Attorneys to regularly visit jails and prisons, and I will participate in these visits myself. We must be aware of exactly what we are asking for when we seek incarceration for those charged or convicted of crimes. But we must do more than simply go on sanitized tours of these facilities where the reality of life for incarcerated persons is hidden from us. As for assisting in bids for parole, see my response to question 21
23. Law Enforcement Contributions
Will you reject all campaign contributions, endorsements, and outside spending from organizations that exclusively represent police, correction, and/or court officers?
Yes I have.
24. Real Estate Contributions
Will you reject all contributions from the real estate industry?
I refuse all corporate and lobbyist contributions, and any contributions from those in the real estate industry who are connected with slumlords, housing discrimination, tenant harassment, or disobey tenant protections.
25. New York State District Attorney Association
Do you commit to not becoming a member of the District Attorneys Association of New York State?
Progressive District Attorneys have been elected in jurisdictions as large as Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, and San Francisco. New York City is soon to follow suit, as will jurisdictions across the state. DAASNY has a history of advocating for regressive and damaging policies, but organizations can change as their membership changes. Having been excluded from certain groups on the basis of my race, I am particularly wary of self-segregating myself when I believe that I can have a positive impact on a group. If we deny this organization the voice of a person of color with lived experiences that matter to District Attorneys statewide, we will be missing out on the opportunity for change. If the organization maintains its reactionary positions and refuses to hear the voices of myself and other voices of people of color and voices of reform, I will speak out against them. My history shows that I will not hesitate to do so. In the Attorney General’s office, I prosecuted a sitting DA, notwithstanding that the Attorney General was a member of DAASNY, I will have no hesitation to continue to be a strong voice for justice.
26. Defense Attorney’s Contributions
How will you handle contributions from defense attorneys with active matters before the Manhattan District Attorney's Office?
I have never accepted these donations and never will. We refuse to take contributions from any defense attorney that has had a matter in the Manhattan DA’s office in the last four years, a far greater restriction than any other candidate I know of in this race, or any DA race.
27. LGBTQ Support
a. Do you consider yourself a member of the LGBT community?
b. Will you commit to hiring a member of the LGBT community to serve as a liaison to the community?
c. What LGBT organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally?
d. Have you marched in Pride? Which marches and for approximately how many years?
I am not a member of the LGBT community. I commit to hiring a member of the LGBT community to serve as a community liaison. I have marched in the Brooklyn Pride event, planned to march in this year’s Pride Parade, and will march as Manhattan District Attorney.
I have not been involved directly with any LGBT organizations, but I have worked steadfastly on a number of matters to combat discrimination against LGBT persons. At the Attorney General’s Office, I investigated and helped change company policies that post-Windsor unlawfully did not provide the same health benefits for married same-sex couples as opposite-sex couples. I also fought against the Trump Administration’s efforts to push a rule expanding the ability of businesses to refuse to provide necessary health care on the basis of the business’ “religious, moral, ethical, or other” beliefs. This rule was intended by the Trump Administration to allow health care discrimination against the LGBT community and to provide a basis to deny reproductive health care.
[3] https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/04/29/the-people-vs-cy-vance
[4] https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/04/29/the-people-vs-cy-vance
[5] https://www.innocenceproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Conviction-Integrity-Unit.pdf
[6] Wodak A, Cooney A. Do needle syringe programs reduce HIV infection among injecting drug users: a comprehensive review of the international evidence. Subst Use Misuse. 2006;41(6-7):777–813.
[7] See Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) FAQs, CTRS. FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION (May 23. 2019), https://bit.ly/2xO4N23 [https://perma.cc/C88X-R66Z].