District attorney shouldn’t wait to implement reforms
In an op-ed published June 7, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen asked, “When the protests die down and the smoke has cleared, what will we do?” He promised that he “will be thinking in coming days, weeks and months about ways we can make what we do more equitable, more fair, and more just.”
What is striking by the question he poses to us all is that Rosen — the top law enforcement official in the county — hasn’t already implemented these potential reforms over his several year tenure and that he asks vague questions instead of presenting concrete answers at this critical moment in our county and country.
Rather than waiting days, weeks and months to think, Rosen can adopt reforms to ensure that the value of black lives are no longer cheapened, to remedy the hideously disproportionate number of black lives languishing in our jails and prisons and to make the criminal justice system in Santa Clara County “more equitable, more fair and more just.”
He need not wait for any smoke clearing. These are specific actions he as our elected county DA can do to respond to an unprecedented and echoing call for justice that is coming from the streets.
He can start by saying Black Lives Matter. It’s a simple moral truth that Rosen did not mention once in his op-ed. He can require that all prosecutors attend jail and prison tours so they witness the machine of mass incarceration in operation and the countless black people and people of color that are caged within it.
Rosen wrote, “People who are not a danger to our community should never be held behind bars because they can’t afford bail.” Instead, he can demand that “People who are not a danger to our community should never be held behind bars.” His office can stop asking for money bail in any case. His office can respect the presumption of innocence and not detain people pretrial absent an imminent, violent threat to public safety.
He can stop the prosecution of kids, historically mostly black and brown boys, as adults and stop sending them to adult prisons for adult prison terms.
He can stop the use of the death penalty and stop seeking mandatory life without the possibility of parole sentences, punishments that define people’s lives, disproportionately black and brown men, by their worst moments and ignore their prospects for rehabilitation.
He can ensure that people are not disproportionately punished and imprisoned by stopping the prosecution of threestrikes law status enhancements and by not locking people up for technical, noncriminal probation violations.
He can combat racially motivated policing of minority communities by ending racist gang enhancements and the racist policing tactics that these prosecutions live on.
He can join the national and statewide movements to shrink the footprint of prisons by not fighting the next wave of laws that de-carcerate rather than resisting reforms as he and his office have done with SB 1437 (amended felony murder rule) and SB 1391 (ended prosecution of 14-and 15-year-old kids as adults).
He can commit to not using illegally secured evidence in prosecutions and hold police officers accountable who collect evidence unconstitutionally.
He can commit to prosecute police officers who unlawfully kill civilians and bring to justice all police officers who use excessive force and unreasonably beat, assault, mace, baton, maim our community members. Alternatively, he can assign independent prosecutors with charging authority to prosecute crimes committed by police officers.
He can stop shielding police officers from liability by ending the routine practice of prosecuting victims of police violence, racial profiling, and harassment with frivolous crimes.
He can recognize the toxic influence that police unions have in protecting police from accountability and reject any campaign support from them.
This is not a time for thinking. This is a time for action. Adopt these policies immediately and show Santa Clara County your commitment to black lives and justice for all.
Raj Jayadev is the co-founder of Silicon Valley De-Bug. Sajid A. Khan is a Santa Clara County public defense lawyer.