The Landscape of Prosecutor Elections in the United States

• In Event: Prosecution in the Making I: Context and Operation of Prosecutorial Offices in the Americas

Abstract

The United States is one of the only countries to elect local prosecutors. These local prosecutors are granted wide discretion over criminal case processing decisions including filing charges, amending charges, and negotiating plea agreements. Legal scholars have also cited their importance in addressing mass incarceration and reducing racial disparities in criminal case outcomes. Given the importance of the role in addressing these issues, local prosecutor elections may serve as a pathway to criminal justice reform. Few empirical assessments of these elections exist, however, due to lacking data related to this topic. Importantly, the few studies that examine these elections find that they are uncompetitive. To address this gap in scholarship, we built a national database spanning eight years that includes elected prosecutor demographic information, as well as election and jurisdiction information. Using this new dataset, the current study assesses the factors that are associated with local prosecutor turnover. Preliminary findings suggest that there are relatively few elections in which incumbent prosecutors are challenged.

Authors

• Maria Arndt, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Rachel Silverthorn, Florida International University

• Cassidy Haigh, University of Bridgeport