Rachael Rollins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rachael Rollins
Rachael Rollins.png
Rollins in 2019
United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
Assumed office
January 10, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byAndrew Lelling
District Attorney of Suffolk County
In office
January 2, 2019 – January 10, 2022
Preceded byJohn Pappas
Succeeded byKevin R. Hayden
Personal details
Born (1971-03-03) March 3, 1971 (age 50)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst (BA)
Northeastern University (JD)
Georgetown University (LLM)

Rachael Splaine Rollins (born March 3, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician who is the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Rollins was formerly Suffolk County District Attorney in Massachusetts, which includes the municipalities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. Rollins is the first woman to hold the office of Suffolk County D.A. and the first woman of color to serve as a Massachusetts D.A.[1]

In July 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Rollins to be the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.[2][3] She is an advocate for criminal justice reform.[4]

Early life and education[]

Rollins was born in Boston and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the oldest of five children. Her father, a second-generation Irish-American, worked as a teacher.[5] Her maternal grandparents are from Barbados and her mother is a first-generation American. Rollins attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols School[6] and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and African-American studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Juris Doctor from the Northeastern University School of Law, and a Master of Laws in labor and unemployment law from the Georgetown University Law Center.[7][8] Rollins began her legal career as a law clerk to Judge Frederick Brown of the Massachusetts Appeals Court from 1997 to 1998.

Career[]

Rollins served as the chief legal counsel to the Massachusetts Port Authority from 2013 to 2015, and as the General Counsel to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation from 2011 to 2013 and contemporaneously to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority from 2012 to 2013. Rollins was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2011. From 2002 to 2006, Rollins was an attorney at Bingham McCutchen LLP, and from 1999 to 2002, she was a Field Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board.[citation needed]

District Attorney[]

Election[]

During her campaign, Rollins pledged to decriminalize certain offenses, such as shoplifting, drug possession, wanton or malicious destruction of property, drug possession with intent to distribute, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and resisting arrest.[9][10][11] She defeated four other candidates in the September 4, 2018, Democratic primary[12][13][14] and won the November 6, 2018, general election with 80% of the vote against independent challenger Michael P. Maloney.[15][16][17] She took office on January 2, 2019.[18]

Tenure[]

Rollins succeeded John P. Pappas, who was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker to serve as Suffolk County district attorney from September 26, 2018, completing the final months of Daniel F. Conley's 16-year term.[19][20]

In March 2019, she laid out a memo on resolving petty crimes without jail time.[21] In her capacity as district attorney, she is requiring prosecutors visit jails, and not only ones that are nearby.[9] Rollins endorsed Tiffany Cabán in the Democratic primary for Queens district attorney.[22]

A study by economists at Rutgers University, Texas A&M University and New York University found that Rollins's policy change whereby nonviolent misdemeanor offenses would not be prosecuted led to a reduction in local crime rates, as well as reduced the likelihood that the nonviolent misdemeanor offenders would be arrested in the future.[23]

Cash bail[]

After campaigning on a platform that included reducing the use of cash bail, Rollins has since critiqued the Massachusetts Bail Fund for securing the release of incarcerated people charged with violent felonies from pretrial detention.[24] After a person bailed out by the Massachusetts Bail Fund allegedly committed another sexual assault following their release, Rollins became embroiled in a debate over the nature of cash bail with critics arguing that bail should not be used to keep individuals incarcerated who cannot pay and community safety should be ensured through other methods.[25] Rollins faced further criticism when her office increased the bail of a person experiencing homelessness who was charged with armed robbery when learning he would be bailed out by the fund.[24]

U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts[]

In July 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Rollins to be the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton said he would try to prevent Rollins from being confirmed, saying she supported policies that have contributed to an increase in violent crime. Senator Ted Cruz also criticized her for stating she would not prosecute certain crimes.[26] In September 2021, a committee vote to advance Rollins' nomination was delayed after Cotton wanted more time to convince colleagues to oppose her.[27][28]

On September 30, 2021, her nomination was stalled in committee by an 11–11 vote.[29] On December 8, 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote on the Senate's motion to invoke cloture on, as well as to confirm, Rollins's nomination.[30] On December 18, 2021 the United States Marshals Service refused Rollins' request for a full time security detail despite recent threats against her life.[31] On January 10, 2022, she was sworn-in as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.[32]

References[]

  1. ^ "Meet District Attorney Rollins « Suffolk County District Attorney's Office". Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "President Biden Announces Eight Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorneys". July 26, 2021.
  3. ^ "Biden nominates progressive DA as US attorney in Massachusetts". July 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "Rachael Rollins wants to remake the criminal justice system. Republicans have vowed to block her path". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Rollins brings mandate for change – and blunt style – to Suffolk DA's job". CommonWealth Magazine. December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  6. ^ "School Committee members sworn into office, triggering the process to replace missing sixth". Cambridge Day. January 7, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  7. ^ The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy: Rachael Rollins
  8. ^ "Rachael Rollins | Kennedy Summer School". Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Dialynn Dwyer, "Q&A: Suffolk County District Attorney-elect Rachael Rollins on her priorities and how her personal experiences inform her work as a prosecutor," 'Boston Globe,' November 14, 2018
  10. ^ https://rollins4da.com/policy/charges-to-be-declined/
  11. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La7ZJ6k_XEg
  12. ^ "PD43+ » 2018 District Attorney Democratic Primary Suffolk District". PD43+.
  13. ^ "Rachael Rollins takes Democrats" nod for district attorney". September 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Reporter, Maria Cramer-. "Rachael Rollins bests crowded field to win Democratic primary for Suffolk district attorney - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  15. ^ "PD43+ » 2018 District Attorney General Election Suffolk District". PD43+.
  16. ^ Globe, The Boston. "Election results 2018 - Mass. race - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  17. ^ "Rachael Rollins, Criminal Justice Reformer, Is the New Suffolk DA". November 7, 2018.
  18. ^ Reporter, Maria Cramer-. "Rollins sworn in as Suffolk district attorney - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  19. ^ McDonald, Danny. "Pappas sworn in as Suffolk DA - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  20. ^ "Interim Suffolk DA named". September 26, 2018.
  21. ^ "Suffolk DA Rollins Lays Out Plans For Leniency For Low-Level, Nonviolent Offenses". www.wbur.org. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  22. ^ Rojas, Rick (June 26, 2019). "5 Key Things to Know About Tiffany Cabán". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  23. ^ "A New Study Reveals that Not Prosecuting People for Nonviolent Misdemeanors May Actually Reduce Crime". Time. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Estes, Andrea (August 6, 2020). "Sex offender, free on bail, is charged with new rape". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  25. ^ The Editorial Board (August 17, 2020). "Criticism Against Mass. Bail Fund misses the mark". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  26. ^ "Sen. Cruz on Biden Judicial Nominee Rachael Rollins: 'Anyone Who Reads This Document Knows Exactly What Kind of Radical This Prosecutor is' | U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas".
  27. ^ Estes, Andrea (September 23, 2021). "Rachael Rollins confirmation vote for U.S. attorney delayed by GOP senator". www.boston.com. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  28. ^ "Rachael Rollins' US Attorney Nomination Held Up By Republican Senator". CBS Boston. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  29. ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Latest Slate of U.S. Attorney Nominations" (Press release). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. September 30, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  30. ^ Puzzanghera, Jim (December 8, 2021). "Senate confirms Rachael Rollins to be US attorney for Massachusetts, making her the first Black woman to hold the office in state history". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  31. ^ Staff, rea Estes Globe; December 17, Updated; 2021; Comments, 6:15 p m Share on Facebook Share on TwitterView. "Federal marshals won't provide a security detail for confirmed US Attorney Rachael Rollins despite recent threats against her life - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved December 18, 2021.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ "Rachael S. Rollins Sworn in as United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts" (Press release). Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""