City and county prosecutors (called Commonwealth’s Attorneys in Virginia) are some of the most powerful elected officials in the U.S. because they have real impact on people’s lives. These officials have wide discretion in choosing whether or not to:

—Encourage discriminatory policing

—Engage in the practice of “overcharging” defendants to gain leverage and force them to plead guilty

—Use money bail for minor crimes—a practice which often forces those with lower incomes into jail

—Force longer prison sentences, which destroys family and community ties

We’ll have a frank conversation about these and other topics with our diverse panel of experts and with you, members of our community. Bring your questions as we talk about what is working and what needs to change to bring meaningful criminal justice reform in 2019.

Panelists:

—Jim Hingeley, Co-Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic and candidate for Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney

—Monica Robinson, President of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham branch of the NAACP

—Joe Platania, Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney

—Liz Murtagh, Public Defender for Charlottesville/Albemarle

—Diane McNeal, Chairperson of the Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP Education Committee

Moderator:

—Cynthia Neff, Serves on the Charlottesville Advisory Council to the Legal Aid Justice