"These things where they are essentially entrapment, folks I would not do any of those cases. I didn't understand then but the reason was these NYPD tactics of gotcha!" Bragg said. "When I was growing up in Harlem my mom used to tell me if someone asked me where the drug location was on our block, which I knew where it was, never to answer. The next question was addressed to Quart, Bragg, and Weinstein, who moderators said had in the past failed to say they would decline to prosecute cases that were built upon police-initiated efforts including "buy and bust" tactics where plain-clothes officers pose as customers to uncover and arrest street drug dealers.
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"A lot of the budget for the Manhattan DA's office was increased to actually handle criminal justice reforms and a majority of it went to data collection, IT enhancements, and more staff to prosecute," Aboushi said.Īboushi added that she would disband the early case investment bureau and replace it with an arrest review unit, which would be focused on declining to prosecute cases instead of figuring out how to make charges stick. Orlins added that she would let go of prosecutors to help shrink the budget. That budget stands at over $120 million per year.Īboushi stated that she would decline to prosecute as many cases as possible and Orlins agreed, saying under her leadership almost no misdemeanor cases would be prosecuted. Orlins continued to highlight the cases she has worked as the only public defender in the race Quart leaned upon criminal justice reform legislation he has helped pass during his years in Albany, and Crotty her work as both a prosecutor and defense attorney.Īboushi and Orlins separated themselves early on in the discussion by being the only two candidates committed to cutting the Manhattan district attorney's budget by half. Bragg highlighted his work at the New York Attorney General's office, Weinstein her work at the Brooklyn District Attorney's office Florence highlighted support she has from labor unions based on her work prosecuting wage theft cases while in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and Lang focused on her work as a national criminal justice reformer, including in her recent position as Director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY.Īboushi directed attention to her work suing the NYPD and plans she has released for an arrest review unit and sentencing review unit. In response to moderators' repeated requests for specificity, candidates leaned on their legal backgrounds, highlighting experience in handling complex cases and fighting for reform, sometimes from within ‘the system’ and sometimes from the outside. The candidates include civil rights attorney Tahani Aboushi former Principal Deputy State Attorney General Alvin Bragg State Assemblymember Dan Quart public defender Eliza Orlins Tali Farhadian Weinstein, the former general counsel to the Brooklyn District Attorney and a former federal prosecutor and former Manhattan Assistant District Attorneys Liz Crotty, Lucy Lang, and Diana Florence. Questions were directed to select candidates instead of being posed to the whole field.
The moderators posed pointed questions, pressing the candidates for how they would change policies from the Vance administration, and drawing viewers' attention to the differences in what candidates were - and weren't - willing to promise.
The groups included Color of Change, Vocal-NY, New York Communities for Change, the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, the Working Families Party, and Sunrise Movement NYC, among others. The event was hosted by a large coalition of progressive groups pushing for the next Manhattan District Attorney to bring sweeping change to the office to reduce its footprint and the number of New Yorkers who are prosecuted and jailed. All eight candidates in the running are, like Vance, Democrats, and plan to appear on the June primary ballot. The race to be Manhattan’s top prosecutor is taking place as incumbent District Attorney Cy Vance has not stated whether he will seek reelection, but has not been raising money or making campaign appearances. Top (l-r): Tahanie Aboushi, Alvin Bragg, Eliza Orlins, Tali Farhadian Weinstein Bottom (l-r): Liz Crotty, Dan Quart, Diana Florence, Lucy LangĪll eight candidates currently running for Manhattan District Attorney gathered virtually last week for a reform-focused forum.
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