Educational Media Reviews Online

With District Attorney Larry Krasner winning his second term in 2021, this series from filmmakers Yoni Brook, Ted Passon, and Nicole Salazar provides a timely look at the work of Krasner’s office during his first term, beginning in 2018. Krasner’s approach as DA departs from a traditional approach--his mission is to reform the criminal justice system. As a lifelong civil rights and defense attorney, running for the office of District Attorney is a philosophical departure from his established career trajectory. Many of the interviewees in the documentary series can hardly believe his decision to run for election either - a defense attorney’s courtroom nemesis is the prosecutor, and the District Attorney leads the prosecution efforts for an entire community.

If there is such a descriptor as “outsider attorney” in the same way that there are outsider artists, it would fit Krasner aptly. In the words of some of the individuals featured in the series, Krasner is “the last person in the world who would be the prosecutor of one of the biggest cities in the world” and Krasner “spent his career in opposition to the District Attorney’s office.” Once in office, one of Krasner’s first actions is to take on bail reform and refuse to prosecute non-violent offenses such as drug possession and prostitution; his aim is to reduce incarceration. As Krasner says, “We’re here because we’re different.”

The series details at least one of Krasner’s missteps: the mass firing of assistant district attorneys who held personal or political views in conflict with Krasner’s. While the incoming DA gets to select those who work in the office, the handling of the terminations was mishandled, as Krasner’s staffers freely admit.

The series contains eight episodes (reviewers were provided with the first episode). Both enriching and engrossing, the series focuses on one city’s law enforcement and justice system, but the trends and concepts reflect a broader trend nation-wide towards mass incarceration. Krasner’s term in office (and his subsequent term) offers an alternative to the “tough on crime” approach. An accessible documentary series that provides a comprehensive overview of how our criminal justice system operates, through the lens of one District Attorney’s office under the charismatic and polarizing leadership of Krasner.

Awards:
Gotham Awards, Breakthrough Nonfiction Series 2021; World Premiere at Sundance 2021; PBS Independent Lens Broadcast

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