When prosecutors lose their independence,
democracy loses a critical line of defense.
Independent prosecutors have long served as a firewall against the political abuse of the justice system.
They check the powerful. They enforce accountability. They resist government overreach.
That firewall is burning.
Our new report connects the dots.
The report shows how removals, investigations, preemption laws, and federal pressure campaigns are being used to punish prosecutors for lawful decisions — and why that threatens democracy.
Local elections lose meaning when state or federal actors can override a prosecutor chosen by voters to represent their values.
Independent prosecutors can serve as a check on government abuse, official misconduct, and unequal enforcement of the law.
Communities are safer when prosecution decisions are guided by facts, evidence, and public interest — not political retaliation.
No one should be above the law, and no prosecutor should be punished for applying it independently.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended elected State Attorneys Andrew Warren and Monique Worrell, replacing them with his own appointees and turning policy disagreements into a basis for overriding voters. Just over a year after her suspension, Worrell ran again and handily won election to her old position.
At least 14 states have passed laws to limit or override local prosecutorial discretion. For example, Texas passed a law that defined any blanket declination policy by a district attorney as misconduct and enabled any resident to file suit for removal. In Georgia, lawmakers created a statewide commission with authority to investigate and discipline local prosecutors. Not only does the law allow removal, but it also bans running for election for 10 years afterwards.
Policy disagreements should be resolved through regularly scheduled elections, but prosecutors have increasingly faced extraordinary removal efforts instead. In Philadelphia, District Attorney Larry Krasner was impeached by state lawmakers before the case was dismissed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In California, successful recall campaigns against Chesa Boudin and Pamela Price – fueled by significant outside spending from right-wing and dark money sources – focused largely on disagreement with their reform-oriented policies and case decisions.
In his second term, President Trump has ramped up attacks on prosecutorial independence. He directed the Department of Justice to investigate and charge his political enemies, fired U.S. Attorneys and DOJ officials who refused to comply with demands like dropping charges against then-New York Mayor Eric Adams, and fired or demoted prosecutors as retribution for involvement in prior cases like January 6 insurrection participant cases. The President’s weaponization of DOJ against his enemies is unprecedented and a true crisis for democracy.
Federal pressure on local prosecutors undermines federalism, local democracy, and prosecutorial independence all at once.
During the first Trump Administration, federal officials threatened local jurisdictions with the loss of federal funding in an effort to force cities and prosecutors to participate in federal immigration enforcement. The current administration has gone further, echoing Project 2025’s call to target local prosecutors who do not align with the administration’s priorities. The DOJ Civil Rights Division, for example, has launched investigations into Hennepin County, Minn. Attorney Mary Moriarty and Fairfax County, Va. Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano over local policies and prosecutorial decisions.
Congress has also used hearings, letters, and investigations to pressure local officials over issues such as immigration enforcement and charging priorities. Recent inquiries targeting officials in New York City, Boston, Denver, and Arlington, Virginia show how federal political pressure can reach directly into local justice systems — and attempt to override the choices of local voters.
The report calls on Congress, state governments, legal institutions, civil society, and the media to recognize attacks on prosecutorial independence as a democracy threat — and to build stronger protections against political interference.
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