Jury demandability In DC, you can demand a jury trial of your peers if you face a lawsuit for $20 or more, but not if you face 180 days in jail. 5 Minute Read Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean...
dc crime lab A failing crime lab means innocent people are convicted of crimes, and victims do not receive justice. 6 Minute Read Without a well-run crime lab that adheres to the best practices in the field of forensic science, innocent people may end up convicted of crimes,...
Decriminalizing sex work 7 Minute Read Decriminalizing sex work is a matter of health, safety, and survival. DC’s sex workers have reported that they sometimes engage in their work as a matter of survival. Under criminalization, a sex worker can face a whole series of threats to their...
Case screening Pre-charge case screening by prosecutors can avoid the negative consequences of an arrest. 6 Minute Read Some people arrested by police in DC are not charged with a crime, but that person can still be each person is nevertheless handcuffed, booked, detained overnight, transported to...
mandatory minimums Mandatory minimums are extreme sentences that DC residents and victims want eliminated. 4 Minute Read https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0GOwTEBHSYBy imposing mandatory minimum sentences, courts lose the ability to customize sentences based on individual circumstances and victims’ stated goals and preferences. Mandatory minimum laws do not deter crime but...
Jury Selection Jury service is a key civic duty – peremptory challenges prevent Black people from serving. 4 Minute Read Either the prosecutor or the defense can reject a potential juror without giving a reason; these are called “peremptory challenges.” In DC criminal trials, each side is allowed...
Charging children as adults A judge, not a prosecutor, should decide whether a child should be charged as an adult. 4 Minute Read DC is one of only 14 jurisdictions in the country where a prosecutor can directly charge a child as an adult without a court...
No Data Found In DC, 97 percent of cases are resolved with plea deals, without a trial where the defendant can contest the charges. No Data Found Federal prosecutors declined to prosecute 56 percent of those arrested in DC. Three quarters of the cases the DC courts spend their...
The RESTORE Act was developed by DC Justice Lab and Councilmember Christina Henderson. If enacted, it would dramatically simplify the process for sealing or expunging a criminal record (obviating the need to hire an attorney in an ordinary case) and significantly expand the number of people eligible for...
As part of an effort to remedy the District’s alarming incarceration rate, 1 DC Justice Lab recommends repealing all mandatory minimum statutes in Washington, D.C. Abolishing mandatory minimums is supported by the majority of voters. According to the ACLU, 72% of Americans would be more likely to vote...