Tag: Zack Smith

New Study Challenges ‘Myth’ That U.S. Has a Mass Incarceration Problem

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Inmate in prison cell

Prison reform advocates have repeatedly pushed the notion that the U.S. has a mass incarceration problem, but a soon-to-be released Heritage Foundation study casts doubt on that claim.

Left-wing proponents of criminal justice reform claim that masses of individuals, including an unfair rate of minorities, are languishing in America’s country’s prisons, but they do not take into account the vast number of crimes that go unsolved or the number of criminals who avoid jail time, according to the report. The data show that any mass release of the U.S. prison population would result in a high number of individuals convicted of violent crimes being put back into American communities.

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Prosecutors Could Pursue Charges Against the SCOTUS Leaker, According to Legal Expert

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The government’s best shot at prosecuting the individual who leaked the Supreme Court’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization may involve having potential suspects testify to their innocence in signed statements, a legal expert told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Politico published a leaked draft opinion Monday revealing the Court would likely overturn Roe v. Wade, leading to speculation about whether the leaker’s actions were illegal. However, many of the potential charges that could be levied against the leaker aren’t a perfect fit for the unprecedented incident, Zack Smith, a legal fellow for the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, told the DCNF.

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Commentary: A Former Prosecutor’s Take on the Rittenhouse Trial and Verdict

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Could Kyle Rittenhouse face another trial? Does Rittenhouse have grounds to sue media outlets for defamation? What about the behavior of the prosecutors during the trial? The Heritage Foundation’s Zack Smith, a former prosecutor, joins Tim Doescher of “Heritage Explains” to answer these questions and more. Watch the full interview here or read, below, an edited and abridged transcript.

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Northern Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorneys Seek Big Budget Increases

Eric Burk

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s (D) office is getting more funding, after the Board of Supervisors adopted a budget for 2022 on Tuesday, according to the Tysons Reporter. The budget includes $8 million for Descano’s office, about 27 percent more than $6.3 million for fiscal year 2021. But that’s far less than the $19.1 million budget Descano has said his office needs.

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Facebook Bans Virginia Senator Amanda Chase from Posting for 30 Days

Eric Burk

State Senator Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) said Friday that she has been banned from posting to her public Facebook page for 30 days, with an additional ban on posting live video for another 30 days. In addition to the ban, Facebook removed some of her posts, including a video showing a woman being shot in the U.S. Capitol and flagged as false Chase’s claims of Antifa involvement in the Wednesday Capitol riot.

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Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice Call for More Criminal Justice Reform

Eric Burk

A group of Commonwealth’s Attorneys has released a letter to the General Assembly calling for more criminal justice reform. In the letter, the Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice (VPPFJ) call for automated expungement of criminal records, ending mandatory minimum sentences, ending cash bail, abolishing the death penalty, and ending the “three-strikes” felony enhancement for petty larceny.

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New Wave of Prosecutors Pushing to Ignore Sections of Law

Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill on Wednesday requiring judges to dismiss cases when both prosecutors and defense attorneys agree. The bill was born after Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Greg Underwood (D) announced that he would not be prosecuting misdemeanor marijuana cases, according to The Virginian-Pilot. The bill is an example of a national push to allow prosecutors discretion to ignore whole sections of law, according to Heritage Foundation Legal Fellow and former prosecutor Zack Smith.

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Eight Commonwealth’s Attorneys Pledge to Not Enforce Pro-Life Laws

Eric Burk
Baby and Father

Eight Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorneys pledged that they will not enforce any laws criminalizing abortions. The pledge was signed by over 60 prosecutors and state attorneys general and expresses concern over attempts to pass laws limiting abortion. The Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) organization published the pledge on October 14, as Congress holds confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

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