The Prosecutor Vacancy Crisis

Authors

Adam M. Gershowitz

Abstract

There is a prosecutor vacancy crisis in the United States. Prosecutors are quitting in droves and there are few applicants to replace them. In Houston and Los Angeles, more than 15% of prosecutor positions are open. In Detroit, the vacancy rate exceeds 20%. In Alameda, 25% of prosecutor positions are empty. And in Miami, a staggering 33% of prosecutor positions are unfilled. The situation is equally dire in many large and small counties across the nation.

Drawing on data and interviews from more than two-dozen district attorney’s offices, this Article documents how low salaries, massive caseloads, lack of remote work options, and crushing discovery burdens have caused an exodus from prosecutors’ offices. Worse yet, many young lawyers no longer perceive prosecution work as admirable public service. Following the murder of George Floyd, law students are more likely to believe that public defenders, rather than prosecutors, are on the side of justice.

Prosecutor vacancies are dangerous to public safety and, counter-intuitively, to criminal defendants, as well. Vacancies lead to junior prosecutors having massive caseloads that they cannot handle. In turn, busy prosecutors fail to dismiss weak cases, leaving innocent defendants to languish in jail. Vacancies also result in junior prosecutors being promoted to senior positions before they are ready. And vacancies cause Brady violations because busy offices fail to provide adequate training, and individual prosecutors lack the time to review their casefiles and recognize Brady material.

Rights

© 2024 Brigham Young University Law Review

Recommended Citation

Adam M. Gershowitz, The Prosecutor Vacancy Crisis, 50 BYU L. Rev. 355 (2024).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol50/iss2/8