Prosecutors Alliance Action holds congressional briefing to launch report documenting a dangerous rise in state and federal efforts to override and remove locally elected prosecutors for lawful exercises of discretion

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, at a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill, Prosecutors Alliance Action released a new report, “Prosecutorial Independence and Democracy: Why It Matters and Why It’s Under Threat,” warning that escalating attacks on prosecutorial independence pose a growing threat to democracy, separation of powers, and the rule of law.

The report argues that prosecutorial independence is not a professional privilege or partisan preference, but a core democratic safeguard. Prosecutors are among the few institutional actors empowered to hold the powerful accountable, resist government overreach and prevent criminal law from being used as a weapon against political opponents. But over the past decade, elected prosecutors across the country are increasingly being punished, overridden, removed, investigated or politically pressured for lawful exercises of discretion that conflict with the priorities of state or federal political actors. That assault has now reached the federal government, as President Donald Trump routinely uses the Department of Justice to target his political enemies. 

“What began as baseless attacks on independent prosecutors – sometimes called progressive prosecutors – has escalated into a crisis for American justice and democracy,” said Cristine Soto DeBerry, Executive Director of Prosecutors Alliance Action. “We are dangerously close to normalizing a system where the rule of law gives way to the rule of whoever holds power. If those in charge can target or remove elected officials simply because they disagree with their decisions, every democratic institution is vulnerable. And once that principle takes hold, no community, no elected official and no constitutional right will be safe.”

Disciplining or removing elected prosecutors was traditionally triggered only by evidence of criminal misconduct, demonstrated incapacity or gross deviation from professional norms. Now, as the report demonstrates, prosecutors are being targeted because state and federal actors simply disagree with their lawful policy choices. Across all levels of government, mechanisms once reserved for accountability are being weaponized for political retribution – including executive suspensions, legislative preemption, impeachment, recalls and interference in investigations and charging decisions.

“Local prosecutors are elected by their communities to follow the law and make the best decisions for their constituents based on evidence, ethics, and public safety, not political pressure,” said Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, the elected Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, Va. “When outside actors try to intimidate prosecutors or override local voters, they are not just attacking one office or policy they disagree with. They are attacking the ability of communities to govern themselves. This is not a partisan issue, it is a democracy issue.”

The report concludes with a roadmap to stop the erosion of prosecutorial independence and protect American democracy, calling for urgent action from institutions across the political spectrum, including:

• Congress: Codify norms that protect prosecutors’ offices and case decisions from presidential and congressional interference;
• State legislatures: Establish higher, nonpartisan standards for removing elected prosecutors;
• State attorneys general: Adopt public guidelines establishing the threshold for intervening in local prosecutors’ cases;
• Democracy scholars and journalists: Treat attacks on locally elected prosecutors as democracy issues, not merely criminal justice issues;
• Policymakers at all levels: Protect prosecutors’ operating budgets from politically motivated manipulation.

Protecting prosecutorial independence is one of the clearest and most immediate ways to defend American democracy. Meeting this threat requires legislators, the media, the democracy community and the public to recognize that when prosecutors lose their independence, democracy loses one of its essential safeguards.

The full report is available here.

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Prosecutors Alliance Action advocates for pro-justice and pro-democracy laws, defends prosecutors facing bad-faith partisan attacks, and mobilizes voters to support leaders and policies committed to fairness, safety, and constitutional rights.