Politics of Federal Prosecution: Are there red and blue prosecutors?

• In Event: Understanding Prosecution in Federal and International Contexts

Abstract

Political parties have discovered the political benefits of federal criminal prosecutions. Partisans on both sides have asserted that the other side has politicized the Justice Department. Is this true? This study attempts to answer that question by quantitatively analyzing two data sets from the federal government. The first utilizes the Justice Department's annual reports from 1955 to present to determine whether the party in power has any effect on the charges most frequently charged. The second utilizes the annual reports from the Federal Judicial Center since 2001 to determine whether United States Attorneys in red, blue and purple states differ in the charges filed. In the tradition of an independent Justice Department, we expect to find no relationship between political party in power and cases prosecuted by the Justice Department. Finding no relationship between political party and cases prosecuted will refute claims by both sides that criminal prosecution has been co-opted by the political process. Should we find a relationship, we will propose potential reforms.

Authors

• Scott Ingram, High Point University

• Alec Szalewski, High Point University

• Leslie Pierce, Pennsylvania State University