Prosecutors as Cause Lawyers Steven A. Boutcher Assistant Professor Department of Sociology University of Massachusetts, Amherst Kaitlyn Humphrey Graduate Student Criminology, Law and Society George Mason University Mary Nell Trautner Associate Professor Department of Sociology University at Buffalo, SUNY

Prosecutors as Cause Lawyers Cause lawyering literature –what are they? –Distinctive from “conventional” lawyers –Oppose an “Ideology of advocacy” (Simon 1978) –Focus on personal commitment “Cause lawyering is...a vocation in which people pursue their version of a more just society while they work to make a living” (Stuart & Scheingold 2004:73, emphasis added) Legal Professionalism literature –“Professionalism” is enacted differently across the profession (Mather et al. 2001; Levin and Mather 2012)

Research Questions What does cause lawyering look like for prosecutors? How do prosecutors make sense of their version of social justice obligations within the confines of their professional practices? Does a “cause lawyering” orientation mediate how prosecutors make sense other aspects of their jobs?

Data & Methods Interviews with 16 prosecutors in Western NE Snowball sample from ethnographic observations Non-random Semi-structured interviews Questions focused on: –professional identities –career trajectories –experiences –job satisfaction –views on criminal justice system

Sample Demographics District 1 N=11 District 2N=5 Minimum1.5 years Maximum17 years MenWomen Sample SizeN=9N=7 Years in Practice (avg) Superior Court43 District Court52 Juvenile or Appell.02

Becoming a Prosecutor to Achieve Social Justice “...Prosecutors are paid to make sure justice is done.” “...I felt powerless and wanted to make some kind of impact...” “...that was the best way I could serve kids.” “...I would have this whole new world that would open up in terms of making change and social change...”

Community Social Justice “Justice means...you have done right by the people and the community...” “...this is what [we] were meant to do--fighting for victims of crime, trying to keep communities safer.” “...the crimes that we prosecute are helping society as a whole.”

Upholding Ideals of Law “... it doesn’t make it okay for you to go into somebody else’s property.” “...I would rather have somebody like myself in this office...” “...I think perhaps the most power you can yield as a prosecutor is the power not to charge.”

Conclusions Cause lawyering is not wholly about personal commitment… Relatedly, cause lawyering is rooted in multiple locations across the profession –The institutionalization of cause lawyering? –Different sites structure many different versions of what constitutes cause lawyering Different visions can co-exist within particular sites Next steps…