Democrat
1) What is your understanding of the racial disparities in Maryland’s criminal justice system? To the extent your office could make a difference, how would you address these disparities?
Prosecutors traditionally focus on convictions and punishment, rather than facilitating justice. They have the power to decide what charges to move forward on, and have significant influence on pre-trial conditions and sentencing. It’s because of this discretion that in Maryland, Black men are the largest number of persons incarcerated. In Montgomery County, most of the kids’ charged as adults are Black.
As a former prosecutor, it was obvious to see how the racial disparities played out in sentencing, such as seeing Latino immigrants get harsher sentences for Driving Without a License when it used to be jailable, while white defendants or defendants with financial means have the ability to pay for services or opportunities to get a license. I have seen crimes of hate towards Black men but the lens in which the facts are seen make a judge blind to the crime, causing further trauma for the victim.
I would address these disparities through the State’s Attorney Office by: 1) hiring a diversion coordinator to determine what alternatives to charging are more appropriate to accountability and restorative justice, 2) advocate for a juvenile mental health court to help children through restorative justice means, 3) education for prosecutors and staff on the racial history of criminal justice to get better decisions; and 4) hiring attorneys and staff that understand the need to lessen the effects of disproportionate impact on Blacks and other minorities in the criminal justice system; 5) publicly step away from charging certain crimes that do no pose a risk to community public safety such as CDS paraphernalia and Failure to Obey.
2) Would you support a statewide survey of all Md. State’s Attorneys’ offices to identify any racial / ethnic fairness disparities in charging and plea-bargain policies?
Yes
3) In your opinion, is there a difference between being “tough on crime” and “smart on crime”? Please give examples of what you might do in office in this regard.
Yes. “Tough on crime” implies a law and order mentality, where we are not thinking of the root causes of the crime. The goal is to secure a conviction, rather than administer justice. “Smart on crime” implies addressing the root case to administer justice fairly, with incarceration being a last resort to hold the guilty accountable and prevent further trauma to the victims of the crime.
In addition to creating a job for a diversion coordinator, and a juvenile mental health court, I also proposed an immigrant affairs unit to fight for the protection of immigrant workers and families and an economic crimes unit to address crimes impacting our middle class workers like wage theft, and crimes impacting mostly women like human trafficking.
I would also work with our County’s Pretrial Services to establish reentry opportunities with small businesses in the County for those reentering into the community. The job seekers must go through a vetting process with universal criteria. I would expand the mediation services to provide more opportunities for restorative justice in the County.
4) Does Maryland need to expand access to criminal records’ expungement for formerly incarcerated citizens who successfully complete their terms and remain law-abiding? Are the current statutes effective to ensure public safety and provide equitable access to employment?
When citizens are forced to keep their criminal records after the terms of their sentences are completed, it forces them into a cycle. Criminal records follow adjudicated citizens everywhere and oftentimes, it ends up with them back incarcerated. Removing these records will give them a chance at changing their lives for the better. More can be done to improve the laws to make it easier to expunge certain records, especially marijuana convictions or older Distribution of Marijuana convictions that were Probation Before Judgments.
5) Do you support reform of our juvenile justice system (4 parts) to:a) seek less incarceration for lower level offenses and more diversion to treatment? b) prevent police from lying to juveniles to induce confessions? c) create a presumption of restorative justice remedies or school discipline for non-felony offenses occurring on school grounds? d) support treatment of juveniles who have been sex-trafficked as victims, not offenders?
a) seek less incarceration for lower level offenses and more diversion to treatment? Yes b) prevent police from lying to juveniles to induce confessions? Yes c) create a presumption of restorative justice remedies or school discipline for non-felony offenses occurring on school grounds? Presumption of restorative justice d) support treatment of juveniles who have been sex-trafficked as victims, not offenders? Yes
6) In conclusion, what else would you like to tell voters about your criminal justice plans?
I have the strongest vision of how we can move Montgomery County forward into a safer and more equitable place. It’s important to hold those accountable for wrongdoing, but we must provide opportunities for restorative justice to prevent further harm to all those involved with the crime. We need to take violent crimes seriously but understand we must be watchful of prosecution discretion furthering racial injustice. Voters can see www.mirekunorth.com or follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @mirekunorth.
