Indianz.Com > News > News21: States rein in powers of prosecutors when it comes to reproductive rights
Abortion debate spurs new efforts to restrict prosecutorial discretion
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
News21
MIAMI, Florida — Former Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren never imagined that signing a letter would cost him his job.
Warren joined dozens of elected prosecutors nationwide last summer in condemning the criminalization of abortion post Roe v. Wade. Their public statement said, in part, “prosecutors have a responsibility to refrain from using limited criminal legal system resources to criminalize personal medical decisions.”
In response, Gov. Ron DeSantis used an executive order to suspend him as state attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit, covering Hillsborough County – Florida’s fourth-most populous – which includes the city of Tampa.
Warren had walked into the latest political fight over abortion in the U.S. – efforts to deny prosecutors the discretion to decide whether to pursue cases against those who violate state abortion bans.
But such maneuvers don’t stop at abortion, and experts on either end of the political spectrum say these efforts stand to dramatically alter the criminal justice system, where prosecutors normally decide whether to pursue charges based on evidence and the integrity of a case.
“Discretion is our North Star,” Warren said in an interview with News21. “Prosecutorial discretion is at the heart of everything that prosecutors do, from how you allocate resources in the office to where you focus your attention.”
Indianz.Com
Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
Search
Filed Under
Tags
More Headlines
Cronkite News: Navajo psychiatrist addresses mental health needs
Chuck Hoskin: Tell the whole story about the theft of tribal lands
Native America Calling: A sample of Native Guitars Tour 2024
Cronkite News: Native organization carries on horse traditions
Native America Calling: How Native literature is changing the mainstream narrative
Native America Calling: No ordinary animal
Native America Calling: Safeguards on Artificial Intelligence
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation takes the lead for our environment
Native America Calling: Earth Day assessment for Native peoples
Cronkite News: Gathering addresses ‘epidemic’ among Native people
VIDEO: Cody Desautel on tribes and federal forest management
AUDIO: Legislative Hearing on Discussion Draft of Forest Management Bill
Native America Calling: Remembering the 1974 Navajo border town murders
Native America Calling: Can the right approach close the Native immunization gap?
More Headlines
Chuck Hoskin: Tell the whole story about the theft of tribal lands
Native America Calling: A sample of Native Guitars Tour 2024
Cronkite News: Native organization carries on horse traditions
Native America Calling: How Native literature is changing the mainstream narrative
Native America Calling: No ordinary animal
Native America Calling: Safeguards on Artificial Intelligence
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation takes the lead for our environment
Native America Calling: Earth Day assessment for Native peoples
Cronkite News: Gathering addresses ‘epidemic’ among Native people
VIDEO: Cody Desautel on tribes and federal forest management
AUDIO: Legislative Hearing on Discussion Draft of Forest Management Bill
Native America Calling: Remembering the 1974 Navajo border town murders
Native America Calling: Can the right approach close the Native immunization gap?
More Headlines