Chesa Boudin

Boudin was elected San Francisco District Attorney in the 2019 election, defeating interim district attorney Suzy Loftus.[30][31] Boudin campaigned for the office on a decarceration platform of eliminating cash bail, establishing a unit to re-evaluate wrongful convictions and refusing to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with raids and arrests.[32] The San Francisco Police Officers Association and other law enforcement groups spent $650,000 in an unsuccessful effort to defeat Boudin.[33] Attorney General William Barr criticized Boudin and like-minded DAs, accusing them of undermining the police, letting criminals off the hook and endangering public safety.[34] In an interview during the COVID-19 pandemic, Boudin questioned whether the nation "can safely continue the national system of mass incarceration. Why do we need to take people to jail for non-violent offenses if what they really need is drug treatment or mental health services?"[32]

Boudin was sworn in as San Francisco district attorney by San Francisco mayor London Breed on January 8, 2020.[35][36]

Two days after being sworn in, Boudin fired six prosecutors on January 10.[37]

His first policy as district attorney was the implementation of a diversion program for primary caregiver parents of minor children who were charged with misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies, in accordance with SB394. The bill, which was authored by State Senator Nancy Skinner, was signed into law by Gavin Newsom in October 2019. If accepted into the program, the police would suspend criminal proceedings for up to 24 months, allowing the defendant to undergo various classes and training. After completing the program, the court would drop their charges. It is similar to the mental health and drug diversion program in San Francisco. It is supposed to reduce trauma for children would have otherwise had a parent incarcerated. Critics have raised concerns about potential loopholes for abusers and sexual offenders.[38]

On January 22, he fulfilled a key campaign promise by eliminating cash bail and replacing it with a "risk-based system," in which prosecutors evaluate whether or not a defendant poses a threat to public safety as a condition for their pretrial release. John Raphling, a senior researcher at the Human Rights Watch, praised the decision, stating that bail and pretrial incarceration has been used "as leverage to pressure people to plead guilty regardless of actual guilt." Conversely, Tony Montoya, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, condemned the decision by claiming that the risk-based system is an "arbitrary math equation" and that the change would create a "criminal justice revolving door".[39]

On January 26, Boudin suspended the process of prosecuting Jamaica Hampton, a man who was shot and seriously injured in an altercation with police, during which he was captured in body camera footage striking an officer with a liquor bottle in San Francisco's Mission District. This was characterized in some press reports as "dropping charges", but Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the DA's office, stated that charges had not yet been filed. Thus the DA's office retained the right to resume the prosecution at a later date. The decision to suspend the process was made to avoid a conflict between the prosecution of Hampton and the investigation and potential prosecution of the officer, who could potentially be charged for the shooting. The police union, which opposed Boudin's election, criticized the decision as "giving criminals a green light" to attack police officers.[40]

Boudin announced on February 28 that his office would no longer seek charges for contraband found during “pretextual” traffic stops and would not charge status enhancements that increase jail sentences, such as those imposed for gang membership or for having three strikes. He explained that extensive, empirical evidence demonstrated the ineffectiveness of those policies and discrimination against marginalized communities.[41]

Boudin announced on April 9 that his office secured temporary housing units for survivors of domestic violence.[42]

Boudin established an Economic Crimes Unit to protect worker's rights on April 21.[43] That unit filed an employee protection action against DoorDash on July 16 alleging the company illegally classifies its delivery workers as independent contractors.[44]

On June 1, 2020, a group of active and retired district attorneys in California—including Boudin, Diana Becton, and George Gascón—called on the State Bar of California to prohibit elected prosecutors from accepting campaign contributions from police unions. They cite potential conflict of interests between the police's financial backing and the prosecutors who potentially have to file charges against them.[45]

Boudin partnered with Supervisor Shamann Walton to announce a June 2 resolution prohibiting the hiring of law enforcement officers with prior findings of misconduct.[46] The resolution was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on June 23.[47]

On June 5, as part of a series of reforms targeted at holding police accountable, Boudin announced a new policy requiring prosecutors to review all available evidence before charging any cases involving allegations of resisting or obstructing police officers or committing an assault on officers.[48]

On June 15, Boudin announced a policy directive to prevent the charging and prosecution of cases relying upon the word of officers who have previously been found to have committed serious misconduct.

Boudin and three other district attorneys called on the California Victims' Compensation Board to provide victim compensation to victims and witnesses of police violence on June 18.[49]

Boudin joined a grassroots law project to announce the formation of a local "Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission" on July 1.[50]

In October 2020, Boudin's office sent out a survey to 10,500 crime victims, asking them to rank their experience with his office. The survey offered raffle prizes, like tote bags and water bottles, for participation. Responses to the survey were mixed, and the questions on the survey, and their perceived insensitivity, upset some residents of San Francisco, including sexual assault survivors whose cases were dismissed by Boudin's office. In response to the controversy, a spokeswoman for Boudin's office, Rachel Marshall, issued a statement citing a statistic indicating that the office has prosecuted 35 of 61 sexual assault cases requested for prosecution by police. Marshall called that a high percentage and said that proving sexual assault in court is difficult.[51] Marshall was a career public defender in Alameda County until Boudin's election in 2019.

Troy Ramon McAlister, a repeat offender who had three federal felony convictions before 2015, was released on parole from state prison on April 10, 2020 and was arrested by police in November and December 2020 for vehicle and drug crimes. Boudin's office declined to file new charges against McAllister, stating that the state's parole officials had more leverage to keep individuals in custody for nonviolent crimes. On December 31, 2020, McAlister struck and killed 27 year old Hanako Abe and 60 year old Elizabeth Platt while driving a stolen vehicle. While Boudin noted that the parole officers did not hold McAllister after his arrest on December 20, 2020, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and district attorneys from Sacramento and Alameda have criticized Boudin's office for the lack of prosecutions against McAllister and other "alleged serial offenders".[52]

From 2019 to 2020, the San Francisco Police Department saw a clearance rate for burglary crimes of less than 12% compared to 16% the year prior,[53] with reported burglary counts rising from 4,715 to 7,248.[54] However, this was in line with the 12% clearance rate nationally for cities of similar sizes. While crime rates were down overall compared to the year prior,[55] San Francisco Police Chief William Scott attributed the rise of burglaries to the March 2020 shelter-in-place orders in San Francisco and "prolific" serial burglars who were released from custody. According to a spokesperson for Boudin, prosecutors have filed charges in about 66% of the cases and filed motions to revoke probation in about 82% of cases.[53]

• "Chapter 1: Letters to Our Parents," In: Berger, Dan; Boudin, Chesa; Farrow, Kenyon (eds.). Letters from Young Activists. Today's Rebels Speak Out. Nation Books, 2005, pp. 3–8. ISBN 978-1-56025-747-9.
• The Venezuelan Revolution: 100 Questions-100 Answers. Chesa Boudin (ed.), Gabriel González (ed.), Wilmer Rumbos (ed.). Basic Books, 2006. ISBN 978-1-5602-5773-8
• Gringo. A Coming-of-Age in Latin America. Chesa Boudin; paperback ed. Scribner, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4165-5912-2

• "Steps to Family Forgiveness." Chesa Boudin. Fellowship 70 (2004): 18.
• "Strategic Options for Development of a Worker Center." Chesa Boudin and Rebecca Scholtz. Harvard Latino Law Review 13 (2010): 91-126.
• "Institutional Design and International Electoral Observers: Kicking the Habit." Northwestern Interdisciplinary Law Review 39 (2010): 39.
• "Publius and the Petition: Doe v. Reed and the History of Anonymous Speech." Chesa Boudin. The Yale Law Review 120 (2011): 2140-2181.
• "Children of Incarcerated Parents: The Child's Constitutional Right to the Family Relationship." Chesa Boudin. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 101 (2011): 77-118.
• "Prison visitation policies: A fifty-state survey." Chesa Boudin, Trevor Stutz, Aaron Littman. Yale Law & Policy Review 32 (2013): 149-189.
• "The impact of overbooking on a pre-trial risk assessment tool." Kristian Lum, Chesa Boudin, Megan Price (2020).