VPOPP’s Launch Event on Prosecution in the South

Prosecutors, advocates, and academics recently gathered at Vanderbilt Law School for a summit on “Prosecution in the South: Challenges and Innovative Solutions.” The May 7 convening was organized by the Vanderbilt Project on Prosecution Policy (VPOPP), a new initiative within the law school led by research professor and former prosecutor Alissa Marque Heydari.

Fairness and consistency were at the center of the day’s third panel, “Data Collection and Analysis in Prosecutors’ Offices.” A group including Stephen Crump, Executive Director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference; Jared Fishman, Director of the Justice Innovation Lab; Duke Law School Professor Brandon Garrett; and Solicitor General Scarlett Wilson of South Carolina’s Ninth Judicial Circuit discussed how and why to better collect data in prosecutors’ offices.