Prof. Perry Moriearty Quoted in Star Tribune About New Policy That Considers Racial Identity of Defendants

Professor Perry Moriearty was quoted in the Star Tribune about a new policy in Hennepin County that asks its prosecutors to consider the racial identity of defendants. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the new policy is constitutional and is a necessary corrective to address unconscious bias in a justice system that has been historically racist. David Zimmer, a policy fellow with the conservative Center of the American Experiment countered by saying the new policy is an affront to the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendement, which says that every citizen must be treated the same under the law. He said the idea of bias in the criminal justice system that County Attorney Moriarty supports is flawed and the system itself is not creating disparities. But Prof. Moriearty contends that this line of thinking is antiquated. She said, “It’s frustrating that they’re a think tank still making that argument. Studies have shown at every decision point in this system from whether to arrest, to prosecute, to not divert, to charge, to detain and hold and place on bail, at plea negotiations, at every stage there are documented [racial] disparities.”