The Progressive Prosecutor

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin charged a former police officer with homicide last year. This was a milestone in a country where police are so rarely charged. In this installment of The Progressive Prosecutor, we take a look at why so many families are still waiting for justice.

District Attorney Chesa Boudin is not a bland bureaucrat who flies under the radar. He’s gotten national attention as the top prosecutor in San Francisco because of his unique life story, as well as his unusual and divisive pledge to end mass incarceration. In this installment of The Progressive Prosecutor, we hear what can happen when things go wrong.

In his first few months in office, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin moved quickly and decisively. He eliminated money bail and ended gang enhancements, all as part of a bigger pledge to reduce the county’s incarcerated population and shut down an entire jail. In this installment of The Progressive Prosecutor, we find out what happened to those plans after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Previous San Francisco district attorneys have embraced cannabis before it was legal, rebuked the death penalty, and introduced algorithms to combat racial biases. Yet, each top prosecutor’s record is complicated. In this installment of The Progressive Prosecutor, we look at how three district attorneys influenced where we are today.

When Chesa Boudin took the helm as the city’s top prosecutor in San Francisco, he promised to be different. He pledged to use the power of the San Francisco District Attorney's office to reform the justice system. The city’s police union balked, warning he would be too lenient on criminals. In the first installment of The Progressive Prosecutor, we begin with Boudin’s unlikely path to the DA’s office.