The improbable ascent of self-styled “Mexican biker lawyer” Mark Gonzalez as district attorney in Nueces County, Tx., speaks to the profound change sweeping dozens of local prosecutors offices, the Washington Post reports. From the Gulf Coast to Denver, Chicago and Philadelphia, voters have turned to a new wave of district attorneys pushing a boldly liberal agenda. They are freezing use of the death penalty, decriminalizing marijuana possession, diverting low-level offenders to classes and treatment instead of jail, seeking less severe sentences and vowing to prosecute police-involved shootings aggressively. In a field that is 95 percent white and overwhelmingly male, many are minorities, women or gays and hail from unlikely backgrounds, such as civil rights work or the public defender’s office.
The push intensified in this month’s elections, with liberal groups including George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, the American Civil Liberties Union and a political action committee created by Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King contributing millions of dollars or resources to expand the small pool of progressive prosecutors. They had successes in Boston, Dallas and San Antonio, as well as in the race for Delaware attorney general. The prosecutors represent one of the biggest hopes for criminal-justice reformers in an era when President Trump has largely pushed for a harsher approach. This new breed of prosecutors is upending a traditional tough-on-crime focus by emphasizing a holistic approach over conviction rates and long sentences. In Texas, Gonzalez plans in January to roll out a cite-and-release program that will keep those charged with low-level offenses out of jail. He said the program will save the county $24,000 a month and also keep the poor, addicted and mentally ill from languishing behind bars.