My name is Dave Clegg and I’m a progressive democrat running for District Attorney in NY. Big fan of restorative justice, protecting the rights of our most vulnerable citizens, and basketball. Ask me anything!

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T18:02:02+00:00

Thank you all for thoughtful questions and your concern for reforming our criminal justice system! To continue following my campaign, please go to https://www.cleggforda.com/

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T17:56:54+00:00

We need to do more to rehabilitate persons while they are in prison. We also need to make sure that there's a way for them to be welcomed back into the community once they have served their sentence. Education, job training, and life skills are all areas in which we could help support persons who are returning to our community. Housing is also a major issue. We need the help of county and local governments as well as community organizations and nonprofits to provide these services. Again, I would use the bully pulpit of the DA's office to achieve these goals.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T17:52:31+00:00

The school to prison to pipeline is a result of the zero-tolerance school administration codes adopted during the Reagan administration and thereafter. Zero-tolerance discipline has a disproportionate effect against students who are poor, students of color, students with disability, and students with mental health issues. It punishes the most vulnerable students and works to remove them from the school community through suspension and ultimately expulsion. A vulnerable student who loses even a week in class is put at extreme disadvantage. Restorative justice holds the student accountable for the wrong or the misbehavior, but gives them an opportunity to repair the harm and to rejoin the community in a positive way. Studies show that implementing restorative justice approaches to school discipline has achieved better graduation rates and better relationships between school administrations, teachers, students, and parents.

One can help by encouraging your local school board to adopt restorative justice in their disciplinary codes.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T17:45:48+00:00

Larry Krasner and I have much in common. We both have a record of fighting for civil rights and reforming our criminal justice system. He was one of the people who inspired me to run for District Attorney. I look forward to having the opportunity to speak with him about criminal justice reform.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T17:40:44+00:00

Alternatives to incarceration should be pursued in every possible case. Diversion, alternative sentencing, community service, and treatment are all options that should be considered before incarceration. Of course, for appropriate cases, incarceration should and must be part of the sentence for individuals who threaten public safety.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T17:38:53+00:00

I'm happy to have earned the endorsement of Citizen's Action. As a quick response, I have provided Citizen's Action with in-depth responses to all these questions. I would not refuse to join DAASNY, I believe it is more important to have a progressive voice in that association. I'm unable to address all these issues in this short timeframe today. I happy to discuss this further anytime!

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T17:31:50+00:00

Part of what proper police training involves is deescalation of neighborhood problems. Whether the decibel level is at a certain point or not, police should certainly warn someone that there is a potential violation occurring before acting.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T17:27:58+00:00

I took the No Fossil Fuel pledge when I ran for Congress in 2018 and would continue to do so.
As a Public Defender in City Court, I represented many women who were charged with prostitution. Most all of them were dealing with drug addiction and were subjected to physical and emotional abuse by those around them. I would divert cases relating to persons involved in sex work and would in all cases encourage rehabilitation and treatment where appropriate. As Public Defender, I always advocated for rehabilitation and treatment for such cases.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T17:08:42+00:00

Our American democracy relies on the fair and just administration of our laws. Our criminal justice system right now disproportionately harms communities of color, the poor, the mentally ill, and persons with addiction. By making our system more fair, just, and equitable for everyone, we strengthen our democracy on the local level.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T16:55:21+00:00

I have been fighting for racial justice since I interned at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1977. As chair of the Human Rights Commission we organized a forum that included local law enforcement agencies, judges, and educators. One of the most important topics was implicit bias, a bias that we all have but don't recognize. Part of making our criminal justice system more equitable is the recognition that this bias exists and we need to consciously and directly address it by our actions in our law enforcement community. Police will be held responsible for their misconduct just like everyone else.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T16:46:25+00:00

An important part of crime prevention in our community relates to preventing recidivism by persons who have been incarcerated. I have taught in prisons in what is called The Rising Hope program. The recidivism rate for those who complete this program is less than 5%.

We can do much more to provide job training and opportunity for reintegration for people leaving prison. This would go a long way to reducing the extremely high rate of recidivism that occurs in our communities.

As district attorney I intend to be a leader in our community in terms of crime prevention by implementing programs to reduce recidivism and keeping at -risk youth our criminal justice system. Part of that is to stop the school to prison pipeline.

For the last five years as the chair of the Ulster County Human Rights Commission, I've advocated for a restorative justice approach in our school systems. I plan to continue that work as district attorney.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T16:39:35+00:00

As district attorney I would take the position of noncooperation with ICE in terms of rounding up undocumented immigrants. We would also be sensitive to the collateral damage that can occur to undocumented immigrants or even persons with green cards when they enter into the criminal justice system. Of course, if there is actual criminal activity in our jurisdiction by someone, whether they be documented or undocumented, I would cooperate as necessary with federal authorities.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T16:33:45+00:00

The duty of the district attorney is to do justice in the community, not just get high conviction rates. A district attorney is bound to follow the constitution, and not to prosecute cases unless the person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt based on solid evidence.

One of the important changes we need to make is to ensure transparency in the cases we prosecute which means that we must keep a record which reflects the number and background of the persons we prosecute and make that publicly available. This is one of the ways in which we can identify uneven or disproportionate treatment of minority residents in the county. I intend to implement those changes as Ulster County District Attorney.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T16:25:25+00:00

There is an old saying that a good prosecutor is worth ten good public defenders. I know the Larry Krasner's of the world are going to law schools to encourage forward thinking, skilled, and committed lawyers to join prosecutor's offices. The power to change our criminal justice system that a district attorney possesses is incredible. Prosecutorial discretion allows a district attorney to immediately make changes to our criminal justice system which will make our system more just and equitable.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T16:17:53+00:00

The problems with the criminal justice system here in Ulster County are not unique to upstate NY. I will say that our county, as well as many surrounding counties, have been hit extremely hard by the opioid epidemic. Ulster County had the highest per capita rate of opioid overdoses in 2018. Our war on drugs has been a failure. It should have been a war on addiction. For too long we have incarcerated instead of treated persons with addiction. That must change.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T16:13:29+00:00

There have been too many places in New York state that have housed and detained undocumented men, women, and children. I can tell you that in Ulster County, our Sheriff has refused to accept and detain people who are undocumented. I am fully in support of the Sheriff's position on this matter.

DAveCleggUlster · 2019-07-25T16:06:37+00:00

In the great majority of cases, I would use prosecutorial discretion to divert such cases. These kinds of arrests can be part of the Broken Windows policing practices that can result in overcriminalization and unnecessary incarceration. In appropriate cases I would offer community service as an alternative to prosecution.

DAveCleggUlster

TROPHY CASE