Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

“We Live in a Society” – First the Police, Now Prosecutors are Jumping Ship

Monday, May 15, 2023

“We Live in a Society” – First the Police, Now Prosecutors are Jumping Ship

Police forces in several major cities are experiencing “wokeness attrition”  (here, here, and here), and in some progressive-led jurisdictions, prosecutors are following suit.

A report by the Manhattan Institute released early this year described the impact of progressive new criminal procedure rules for prosecutors in New York State. Burdensome, mandatory compliance requirements in the new rules created “a staffing and functioning crisis in prosecutors’ offices,” as assistant district attorneys decided “that a job with so much clerical drudgery and so little gratification is not worth the low pay and long hours. Between spring 2021 and spring 2022 alone, Manhattan and Brooklyn each lost about a fifth of their prosecutors—a trend that has continued in the six months since.” Across the entire state, “numerous DAs [district attorneys] report record 40% attrition rates and unfillable vacancies.”

A Cook County, Ill. prosecutor who quit after 20 years as a felony trial attorney also blames progressive political agendas. The man’s farewell email to co-workers explains that while he “felt truly honored to work with such an incredible group of people,” policies that enabled and encouraged criminals and endangered his own family were the reason he couldn’t stay.  

The “simple fact is that this State and County have set themselves on a course to disaster. And the worst part is that the agency for [which] I work has backed literally every policy change that had the predicable, and predicted, outcome of more crime and more people getting hurt.” These policies, he writes, include bond reforms that kept defendants out of jail pending trial, “shorter parole periods, lower sentences for repeat offenders, the malicious and unnecessary prosecution of law enforcement officers, overuse of diversion programs, [and] intentionally not pursuing prosecutions for crimes lawfully on the books.”

“[W]e live in a society with adversarial court and criminal justice processes,” where each side – the defense and the prosecution – act as advocates, respectively, for the defendant, and crime victims and the public order. “Once we start doing too much of the defense’s job, once we pull our punches, once we decide that it’s worth risking citizens’ lives to have a little social experiment,” the balance between protecting rights and preserving order and safety is lost. The result is less safety and increased crime. “And then they wonder why they cannot retain experienced prosecutors or even hire new ones…it’s because any true prosecutor recognizes the importance of this balance, and that they will not be permitted to be a prosecutor under this administration.”   

He is leaving his home state of Illinois, he writes, as “my own employer has turned it into a place from which I am no longer proud to be, and in which my son is not safe.”  

In Missouri, State Attorney General Andrew Bailey initiated legal proceedings earlier this year to remove Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, the chief prosecuting attorney for St. Louis, alleging she had “knowingly and willfully failed to do her duties as a prosecutor.”

Gardner, a Soros-supported Democrat, described on her reelection campaign website how she “took over an office primarily focused on charges, cases, and convictions. It was an office that adhered to the ‘tough-on-crime’ mantra, which led to skyrocketing incarceration but not to any crime reduction. Through vision, hard work, and grit, Kim has transformed that office…” 

Gardner has since announced she is resigning, but it’s interesting to inquire what her “transformation” accomplished.

The 121-page court petition alleges that after being elected, Gardner “‘reached out’ to the Vera Institute for ‘assistance’ in ‘transforming’ her office.” The Vera Institute supports “prosecuting attorneys that it identifies as ‘Reform Prosecutors.’” Based on the Institute’s recommendations, Gardner allegedly dismissed approximately 25,000 pending criminal cases and, going forward, “arbitrarily appl[ied] the wrong standard of proof in making her charging decisions,” including in cases “where she has reason to believe that a crime has been committed.”

The petition further alleges that Gardner caused “turnover of [assistant circuit attorneys] in record numbers,” with “at least 85 assistant circuit attorneys” resigning or being fired in a three-year period, representing “an extraordinary level of turnover caused by the toxic and dysfunctional work environment.” Another source indicates that “Gardner came into an office with about 60 attorneys. Just one year after Gardner took over, … the 32nd staff member” had left; now, “[a]fter six years of dysfunction, only about 20 attorneys remain in the circuit attorney’s office.” An April news report stated that there were only two “remaining prosecutors currently handling cases” in the office, with one defense attorney saying, “It’s literally like working at a dumpster fire.”

To be fair, these allegations suggest that the turnover may have had more to do with exceptionally poor management than Gardner’s progressive bent. Even so, for the residents of St. Louis the ultimate result of Gardner’s tenure appears to be a public safety train wreck. The petition describes an eight-month or so backlog of unprocessed warrant applications; a further 2,735 criminal cases dismissed by the courts, mostly due to a “failure to prosecute, [Gardner’s] failure to comply with speedy-trial requirements, or her failure to comply with discovery obligations,” and a “sharp decline [in] the number of felony and misdemeanor prosecutions,” even as St. Louis “consistently ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities.” 

It remains to be seen whether this state of disarray in prosecutors’ offices will continue to play out across the country. Who wins when the demand for law enforcement exceeds capacity isn’t the ordinary responsible citizen, but the criminal class: less arrests and prosecutions, of course, mean less consequences for lawlessness.

IN THIS ARTICLE
crime
TRENDING NOW
Trump Continues Commitment to Gun Owners

News  

Monday, October 27, 2025

Trump Continues Commitment to Gun Owners

We’ve covered the numerous ways in which President Donald Trump has used his office to defend or advance our rights protected under the Second Amendment. 

CBS Report: Chicago’s Responsible Gun Owners Wrongfully Arrested, Charged

News  

Monday, October 27, 2025

CBS Report: Chicago’s Responsible Gun Owners Wrongfully Arrested, Charged

The Windy City has its fair share of problems, but a lack of violent criminals isn’t one of them, as anyone who takes a moment to look through local crime news source CWB Chicago knows for a ...

NRA-ILA Files Comments on DOJ’s Relief from Disabilities Rulemaking

News  

Monday, October 27, 2025

NRA-ILA Files Comments on DOJ’s Relief from Disabilities Rulemaking

Last Monday, NRA-ILA (ILA) filed comments in response to a proposed rulemaking by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to revive the government’s “relief from disabilities” program for people categorically prohibited from acquiring or possessing firearms. 

Taxpayer-Funded Orgs Bankroll Ad Council “Children” and Firearms Propaganda

News  

Monday, October 27, 2025

Taxpayer-Funded Orgs Bankroll Ad Council “Children” and Firearms Propaganda

The idiot box has been living up to the nickname.

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Friday, October 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

NRA-ILA Files Reply Brief Pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Its Challenge to the NFA’s Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Thursday, October 23, 2025

NRA-ILA Files Reply Brief Pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Its Challenge to the NFA’s Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Today, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) filed a Reply Brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934’s restrictions on short-barreled rifles in a ...

From Printers to Panic: Everytown Summit on “3D Printed Firearms” Targets Progress

News  

Monday, October 27, 2025

From Printers to Panic: Everytown Summit on “3D Printed Firearms” Targets Progress

Recently, Everytown for Gun Safety hosted a 3D Printed Firearms Summit in New York City with the goal being to “build cross-sector collaboration and chart actionable strategies to stem the tide of 3D-printed firearm (3DPF) related violence.” 

Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

So much of the energy surrounding the digital currency space has been aimed at bringing forth a new liberty. 

Grassroots Spotlight: Green Top Outdoor Expo

Take Action  

Monday, October 27, 2025

Grassroots Spotlight: Green Top Outdoor Expo

Earlier this month, your Virginia NRA -ILA Grassroots Team had the honor of participating in the annual Green Top Outdoor Expo, hosted by Green Top Sporting Goods in Ashland, Virginia

Minnesota: St. Paul Introduces Performative "Assault Weapon" Ban

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Minnesota: St. Paul Introduces Performative "Assault Weapon" Ban

In an act of political theater on Wednesday, October 22nd, the city council of St. Paul introduced a so-called "assault weapon" ban ordinance, which as written would ban the possession of popular firearms and standard ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.