Research

National Study of Campaign Contributions and Elected Prosecutors, 2020-2024

This project continues the examination of local prosecutor elections and campaign contribution information and will be publicly available on a website that will serve as a nationwide clearinghouse for this data.

National Study of Elected Prosecutors, pre-1900 to 2011

This project supplements existing prosecutor election data with historical data to get a comprehensive picture of contestation rates and voter choice over the last century.

National Study of Prosecutor Elections and Campaign Contributions

This study continues the examination of the relationships between campaign contributions, population, whether an election is contested or uncontested, incumbency status, and election outcomes.

States studied: 30 states holding elections in the years studied 
Year(s) studied: 2018-2019
Data: 
Elections data: Local Prosecutor Elections, 2018-2019 – Prosecutors and Politics Project Dataverse
Campaign finance data: Local Prosecutor Campaign Contributions, 2012-2019 – Prosecutors and Politics Project Dataverse

National Study of Campaign Contributions in Prosecutor Elections

This report examines the relationship in fundraising between contested elections and population, who donates to prosecutor campaigns, how incumbency, political party, or reform platforms impact contributions, and which prosecutors are ultimately successful.

States studied: all 50 states
Year(s) studied: 2012-2017
Data

National Study of Elected Prosecutors

This report presents the findings of a nationwide study of prosecutor elections showing that voters are rarely given a choice between candidates and that such choice appears to depend on population and whether an incumbent is running in an election. 

States studied: all 50 states
Year(s) studied: 2012-2017
Data

Law Enforcement Donations in Prosecutor Elections

Using the national database of campaign contributions, this fact sheet presents a nationwide snapshot of law enforcement donations in local prosecutor elections. Data show that law enforcement affiliated individuals and institutions are an important source of campaign contributions in certain elections.

States studied: all 50 states
Year(s) studied: 2012-2017
Data

Prosecutors and Politics: A Conversation about—and with—District Attorneys

In November 2022, Marquette Law In November 2022, Marquette Law School hosted a conversation with district attorneys in Wisconsin and the Prosecutors and Politics Project about the intersection of politics and prosecution and the reality on the ground for prosecutors.

National Study of Campaign Contributions in Prosecutor Elections 

On June 1, 2022, the Prosecutors and Politics Project hosted a webinar to share the results of the first national study of campaign contributions in prosecutor elections and hear from experts about the promise and the peril of private financing in prosecutor campaigns.

Panelists:

Crime and Punishment Across America: A 50 State Legislative Analysis

This report examines four years of proposed criminal legislation along with the composition of state legislatures to determine which issues mobilize legislatures to expand or contract the criminal justice system. This information will help criminal justice advocates better target their efforts and allow for an informed public discourse of overcriminalization.

States studied: all 50 states
Year(s) studied: 2015-2018
Data | Webinar

National Study of Prosecutor Lobbying

This report presents the findings of a nationwide study of prosecutor lobbying in state legislatures. The study developed a comprehensive picture of how often prosecutors lobbied, the criminal justice issues on which they lobbied, what position they took, and the outcome of proposed legislation. The study found that prosecutors were active lobbyists who often lobbied in favor of bills that expanded the scope of criminal laws and bills that increased punishment. Bills that prosecutors supported were more than twice as likely to pass as bills that they did not support.

States studied: all 50 states
Year(s) studied: 2015-2018
Data

Enforcing Marijuana Prohibitions: Prosecutorial Policy in Four States

As states have increasingly legalized and decriminalized marijuana, the enforcement of criminal laws prohibiting the personal possession of marijuana has become more controversial. Very little systematic research has been done to see how prosecutors, as a group, enforce such laws. This study fills that gap.

States studied: Indiana; North Carolina; Tennessee; and Texas
Year(s) studied: 2022

Prosecutors and Public Safety, Arizona State University

On March 16, 2023, the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Conner College of Law, Arizona State University, held a symposium featuring a panel of district attorneys. Panelists discussed the realities of marijuana enforcement and its impacts on public safety as well as the preliminary results of a recent study of prosecutors’ stances on marijuana enforcement.

Panelists:

Prosecuting Cannabis: Approaches from States without Legalization

On May 17, 2023, the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center and the Prosecutors and Politics Project hosted a webinar with a panel of legal experts and academics. Panelists discussed results from a recent study of marijuana enforcement and examine how different district attorney offices approach marijuana offenses.

Panelists:

Media Coverage of Prosecutors and Their Elections: Results of a Pilot Study

Very little is known about the media coverage that prosecutors receive. Read our pilot study to glimpse into the quantity and quality of the media coverage that prosecutors receive during an election year in print news stories.

States studied: Arizona; Kansas; New York, and Oregon
Year(s) studied: 2020  
Data

Media Coverage of Prosecutors and Their Elections

On February 22, 2023, the Prosecutors and Politics Project hosted a webinar focused on the media coverage of prosecutors and their elections, featuring journalists and prosecutors.

Panelists: