Changing course on the path to justice

• Author: Jill Werner
• Pages: 66-67

66 || ABA JOURNAL MARCH 2018

Your ABA

Melba Pearson approaches criminal

justice issues with the eye of a prose-

cutor and the heart of a civil liberties

activist. With one foot fi rmly planted

in each camp, she enjoys the push

and pull of working toward justice

from many angles.

Pearson had been an assistant

state attorney in Miami-Dade

County for more than 15 years. So

she was surprised to receive a job

o er in 2016 from Howard Simon,

executive director of the American

Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

He was looking for a deputy

director. She described herself as

“the queen of black prosecutors.”

It turns out that was what Simon

wanted: a person who could speak

out on criminal justice with author-

ity. She took the job.

The change in careers has been

fascinating, Pearson says.

WORKING FOR REFORM

In her ACLU work, Pearson

focuses on women and minority

communities, particularly in issues

that involve criminal justice reform.

The country’s crackdown on crime

resulted in mass incarceration, which

has created “a lost generation that

you’re never going to recover,” she

says.

The problem, as she sees it, is that

America embraced imprisonment but

stopped investing in rehabilitation.

As a prosecutor, Pearson used to

advocate for requiring that a person

earn a GED in prison or undergo

drug treatment as part of sentencing.

Unfortunately, those were the fi rst

things to go when the government

made budget cuts, she says.

“We’ve gotten so far afi eld from

that,” Pearson says. “You know,

83 percent of those sentenced to

prison get out. How do you want

them to come out?”

Through the ACLU, Pearson is

advocating for an update of crime

thresholds to reduce the number

of people sentenced to prison.

For example, theft of an item

with a value of at least $300 is

considered a felony in Florida and

carries a sentence of up to fi ve years

in prison. Pearson recommends a

“cost of living increase” to $1,000

for a felony charge.

She also advocates for reform

in her role as co-chair of the

ABA Criminal Justice Section’s

Prosecution Function Committee.

The group provides input on

resolutions being prepared for

the ABA’s House of Delegates and

develops CLE programming. In

June, Pearson will present a CLE

Your ABA

Former prosecutor advocates for

criminal justice reform as deputy

director of the ACLU of Florida

By Jill Werner

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development for student journalists,

and for all of us who value the free

press and the voices of youth,”

says Tinker, a retired nurse who

continues the free speech advocacy

she began as a 13-year-old wearing

a black armband to eighth grade.

“I am so happy to be a part of the

e ort and look forward to the day

when New Voices legislation is

passed by every state of the country,

and eventually in Congress.”

ADVOCATING FOR ADVISERS

Another aspect of the current

New Voices proposals is specifi c

protection of student newspaper

advisers from retaliation.

Frey explains that the Hazelwood

ruling had an unfortunate e ect

on those who advise student jour-

nalists—it “puts the advisers in a

challenging spot of how to direct

the students to write good-quality

journalistic stories, but also not

jeopardize their jobs,” she says.

“The New Voices legislation also

prevents schools and universities

from retaliating against an adviser

for teaching student journalists

about documents and how to pur-

sue investigative stories,” explains

Syracuse University journalism

professor Cheryl L. Reed, who

faced trouble at Northern Michigan

University when her students began

making freedom of information

requests.

“Previously, student journalists

at the school newspaper had rarely

used the Freedom of Information

Act to access documents,” Reed

says. “When they began requesting

contracts and trustee travel receipts,

the university held me responsible

for these stories, which the students

pursued on their own.”

Frey believes the New Voices Act

is vital to re-establishing important

freedoms for students, in addition

to helping them to think critically

and write responsibly as journalists.

“Our youth are educated and

have important thoughts and views

that they should be allowed to

share. New Voices can help right the

wrongs that the U.S. Supreme Court

made so many years ago,” Frey says.

“Student voices need to be protected

and respected.” Q