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103 Minn. L. Rev. 844, *908
rationale that oversight of prosecutors lies in the political process rather than judicial enforcement of legal parameters for
charging. 7!8 Third, popular and political pressure has succeeded in redressing some underenforcement practices by
prosecutors (and police) when victim groups, or issues tied to specific offenses, achieve political potency. Intoxicated driving is
perhaps the best example of harmful wrongdoing about which many enforcement agencies have successfully revised their
policies to increase enforcement. 7!? Domestic violence and sexual assaults are other examples where enforcement shifts have
been more limited but still significant. ?7°
Responses by local agencies to this type of pressure have taken three basic forms. First, chief prosecutors adopted internal
office policies that mandate - or set a strong presumption for - [*909] prosecution of specific crimes when evidence is
sufficient. 72! Second, prosecutors get specialized training on how to address the particular challenges posed by specific kinds
of cases such as domestic violence or sexual assault. 7?” Finally, many offices have established dedicated, in-house units of
prosecutors who specialize in these same kinds of crimes. 27+ States legislatures have encouraged these reforms, 774 but
virtually everywhere, the adoption, content, and enforcement of policies is left to local chief prosecutors. No legislation sets
specific charging criteria, authorized judicial review, or gives enforceable rights to victims. 77>
These responses to underenforcement are meaningful, but their form is more political than legal. They are the kinds of
responses produced by a system of electorally accountable prosecutors and legislatures. 77° Often they are in large part
attributable to successful political efforts by advocacy groups. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), for example,
successfully urged reforms of laws and enforcement practices against intoxicated driving. 777 Feminist groups and women's
advocates play important, ongoing roles in reforming police and prosecution policies, substantive criminal laws, and evidence
rules for domestic [*910] violence and sexual assault offenses. 77° These efforts have succeeded in changing attitudes,
professional cultures, and enforcement practices in police and prosecution agencies that had contributed to underenforcement in
these areas. 2? Prosecution units specializing in offenses such as domestic violence, for example, strengthen professional
culture committed to enforcement by attracting lawyers who share that commitment and who develop expertise to act on it. 72°
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3 /papers.cfm?abstract_id= 3095741. Without grounds for federal jurisdiction - such as conduct involving
interstate travel or occurring on federal property - sexual assaults and other violent offenses are the exclusive province of state officials. Kim,
supra, at 277. For examples of the limits built into federal offenses, see/S U.S.C. § /59](a)(1) (2016) (knowingly recruiting or enticing
minors to engage in commercial sex acts); /8 U.S.C. § 2423(b) (2016) (prohibiting travel in interstate commerce for purpose of engaging in
illicit sexual conduct with minor females).
150 The scholarly literature on public corruption is considerable. For a short overview of the debate and the federal law, see David Mills &
Robert Weisberg, Corrupting the Harm Requirement in White Collar Crime, 60 Stan. L. Rev. 1371, 1377-94 (2008). For longer treatments,
see generally Political Corruption: A Handbook (Arnold J. Heidenheimer et al. eds., 2d ed. 1989) (compiling comparative scholarly work on
political corruption); Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption: A Handbook (Paul M. Heywood ed., 2015) (focusing on international and
comparative corruption issues).
Il See, e.g., McDonnell v. United States, 136 S.Ct. 2355, 2365 (2016) (describing quid pro quo requirement for federal bribery offense, 78
U.S.C. § 201, in relation to extortion and honest-services fraud statutes, 78 U.S.C. §$/95](a) & 1346, used to prosecute corruption by state
officials); Skilling v. United States, 56] U.S. 358, 407-09 (2010) (clarifying quid pro quo requirements for bribery and kickback conduct in
honest-services fraud prosecutions).
12 See 18 U.S.C. § 201 (2012) (criminalizing bribes and gratuities); 18 U.S.C. § 666 (2012) (criminalizing theft or bribery related to
federally funded programs); 78 U.S.C.§$1341, 1343, 1346 (2016) (criminalizing mail, wire, and “honest services" fraud); /8 U.S.C. § 195]
(2012) (criminalizing extortion “under color of official right").
153 See, e.g., Nicholas Kusnetz, Only Three States Score Higher Than D+ in State Integrity Investigation; 11 Flunk, Ctr. for Pub. Integrity,
https:/Awww .publicintegrity.org/2015/11/09/18693/only-three-states-score-higher-d-state -integrity-investigation-11-flunk (last updated Nov.
23, 2015) (scoring states and explaining methodology; all but three states scored a "D+" or below on A-to-F scale); see also Corruption
Perceptions Index 2016, Transparency Intl (Jan. 25, 2017), = Atips://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption
perceptions index_2016#table (ranking 174 countries by corruption scores; the United States ranked eighteenth). On the challenges facing
corruption measures, see generally Staffan Andersson, Beyond Unidimensional Measurement of Corruption, 19 Pub. Integrity 58 (2017)
(analyzing the challenges posed by treating corruption as a one-dimensional phenomenon); Adriana S. Cordis & Jeffrey Milyo, Measuring
Public Corruption in the United States: Evidence From Administrative Records of Federal Prosecutions, 18 Pub. Integrity 127 (2016)
DAVID SCHOEN
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