Thread by @ConPro

1/ The “zero tolerance” policy is causing intolerable constitutional chaos. Over the last several days, we’ve written urgent letters to 5 US Attorneys in border states with this message: You can and should use your discretion to *not* enforce this policy. bit.ly/2MFMEGz

2/ It appears that the implementation of this “zero tolerance” policy has brought a “meet ‘em and plead ‘em” system of justice into federal courtrooms on our southwest border, with practices that almost certainly don’t pass constitutional muster.

For example…

3/ Dozens of defendants are tried at once in en masse hearings, represented by an attorney who’s afforded little to no time to speak with, let alone mount a defense for, their clients.

4/ Potential defenses—such as being a juvenile, mentally ill, or eligible for citizenship or asylum—slip through the cracks without effective representation in court.

5/ These problems are made even worse for defendants who are separated from their children: These parents are forced to decide how to proceed in a criminal case that will likely result in their deportation without knowledge of the location or welfare of their children.

6/ The impact of family separation has a coercive effect on defendants, who plead guilty in the hope that it will hasten reunification with their children—a belief that is often incorrect, as many of these parents end up being deported without their children.

7/ In a nation governed by a constitution that protects a defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel and due process, we—and that includes those implementing the policy—cannot countenance the results of the “zero tolerance” policy.

8/ It is a prosecutor’s solemn duty to ensure that defendants’ constitutional rights are safeguarded, and that everyone in the system gets the process they’re entitled to.

The “zero tolerance” policy is incompatible with that fundamental responsibility.

9/9 When a political directive results in constitutional rights being swept aside, the policy must not stand.

We urge US Attorneys in the border states not to implement this policy, and Attorney General Sessions to revoke it: bit.ly/2l4IXhj & bit.ly/2MFMEGz