Originally published in Law360
A conservative-leaning organization that focuses on criminal justice reform has announced it will be expanding into Georgia with the hiring of a former lobbyist for a national prosecutor’s association as its new state director.
Right on Crime, which was founded as an offshoot of Texas Public Policy Foundation in 2010 and now has a presence in 15 states, announced in a Thursday press release that Frank Russo will lead the new office to develop what it calls “conservative criminal justice solutions” in Georgia, seeking to reduce crime while also balancing the rights for both victims and those accused of committing crimes.
Law360 spoke with Russo, who said he hopes to use his years of lobbying and public service to work with legislators, prosecutors and even defense attorneys — regardless of political affiliation — to modernize laws that have created tension within the criminal justice system.
“I don’t care whether you have a D or an R behind your name — more often than not you come across public officials who want victims to have more rights,” Russo said. “Oftentimes laws don’t account for changes in technology, how we investigate crimes — and we need to create new updates and modern laws that will be popular amongst prosecutors and defense attorneys.”
Russo said that a group like Right on Crime takes evidence-based approaches to criminal justice and tries to find ways of creating more efficient laws to support law enforcement, prosecutors and to help expand victims rights in the criminal justice system.
Right on Crime focuses not only on supporting groups like law enforcement but making sure they are funded at appropriate levels. The group hopes to encourage better, more efficient uses of taxpayer dollars as opposed to increasing budgets without ensuring a positive impact on crime, Russo said.
The group focuses on creating conservative policy answers to topics like overcriminalization and the dangers of civil asset forfeiture. While Russo admits some of the topics may not seem like traditional conservative items, the issues have widespread support among those in the criminal justice field and beyond.
Russo said conservatives have a stake in issues like civil asset forfeiture, a somewhat obscure process through which law enforcement may seize property involved in a crime, and that many states should update their laws to allow police to target gang networks without violating the rights of low-level offenders involved in traffic stops, for example.
Russo also anticipates that the group will also be able to cut through political division in Georgia by advocating for commonsense changes to state laws that both Democratic and Republican elected officials can agree on, like updates to rules on technology to collect evidence.
The group also plans to begin targeting issues like recruitment for public-sector offices like law enforcement and prosecutors, who Russo said were devastated by the impact of COVID, and whose staffing levels have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Russo has become an expert on crime, previously working as a lobbyist for the National District Attorney’s Association, as well as Associate General Counsel and a Policy Director at the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC). Ross has also worked on Capitol Hill working with the House Judiciary Committee under Rep. Bob Goodlatte R-Va., and on the Senate Judiciary Committee under Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, according to the press release.