In N.Y. Times, Professor Fish Writes of Recent, High-Profile Refusals to Indict

Professor Eric Fish co-wrote a Feb. 13 opinion piece for the New York Times headlined “A Grand Jury Will Indict a Ham Sandwich? Not in the Trump Era.”

The essay, written with UC Berkeley Criminal Law & Justice Center Executive Director and former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, centers on recent high-profile cases in which grand juries have exercised their power to reject criminal charges.

“These ‘no bills’ — grand jury refusals to indict — are encouraging,” Fish and Boudin write. “At a moment when the Trump administration is clearly trying to use the courts to suppress protest and seek revenge against perceived political enemies, the citizens who make up grand juries are rediscovering the institution’s power and original purpose.”

Professor Fish’s primary research is in criminal law, with particular focus on the ethical duties of participants in the criminal process, the structure of immigration crimes, and the system’s emphasis on administrative efficiency. Fish has served as a public defender, first with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and later as a Federal Defender in San Diego.