Biden under pressure to pick new breed of federal prosecutors
By Harper Neidig - 07/11/21 11:00 AM EDT
President Biden is under pressure to expand his criminal justice reform efforts to include the dozens of U.S. attorney offices across the country that prosecute federal crimes.
Advocates have applauded Biden's criminal justice agenda, such as his plans to increase the number of former public defenders on the federal bench, but stress that the same priorities should be applied when selecting prosecutors to oversee the country's 93 districts.
Rachel Barkow, a professor at the New York University School of Law, says that because of the power that prosecutors wield, Biden’s appointments could make or break his reform agenda.
“It wouldn't be enough to just focus on the courts as the place where you're committed to diversifying and getting a reform minded perspective in there,” Barkow said. “You absolutely have to have the same attitude when it comes to the U.S. attorneys’ posts.”
“You can't have a reform agenda, like the one that you committed to on the campaign trail, if you don't have people in those offices who are going to carry that out,” she added.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/562364-biden-under-pressure-to-pick-new-breed-of-federal-prosecutors
