Sophie Walker

Sophie Walker
Court Watch NYC
New York, NY

I spent a day at the Board of Elections (BOE) Queens district attorney (DA) election recount, which took place at a mall complex in Queens. The twenty or so public observers waited in the hallway and were told to only walk around the perimeter of the room. Plastic folding tables were set up in a rectangle, and at every table two staff and two observers sat, a Katz and Cabán supporter.

We sat for three hour intervals, and when staff members wanted to get up, they raised their hand and someone would come over to sit in their chair while they took a break. The seat was never empty. Staffers dragged around locked black boxes filled with ballots and dumped them on the tables, showing us that they had emptied it entirely. When I was there, ballots were organized by district and precinct, and it was difficult to see what was going on since we sat at a different end of the table.

In the recount, Katz was found to have won by twenty votes (including affidavit and absentee ballots), but that changed to sixteen when four of Cabán’s previously invalid ballots were validated. Cabán challenged dozens more affidavit ballots that were invalidated because the voter didn’t specify their party on the ballot as Democrat, though they’d voted in the Democratic primary (affidavit ballots are filled out when a poll worker can’t find a registered voter). 

Cabán and her lawyers argued that the BOE was responsible for informing people to fill out the entire ballot. The judge was from Brooklyn rather than Queens (and presumably part of the Queens machine, the Queens Democratic Party, and its agenda, but Brooklyn is not actually far) and did not validate any of the votes Cabán was challenging. He stuck to the BOE’s decisions. While Cabán was racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees, Katz’s lawyers work pro bono for the Queens Democratic Party. 

Katz clearly represents the status quo, though Cabán challenged her view and people say she thus pushed her more “left.” What that means in practice is unclear. She is a career politician who has had many roles throughout New York City and state: an assembly member, city council member, currently the Queens borough president, and the soon-to-be district attorney, among other roles.

This summer with Court Watch and VOCAL-NY, I saw the landscape of New York City politics more closely than I had before. It is bleak and complicated and sometimes hopeful, with many inspiring organizers and community leaders, and I realized I would never want to try and be a politician.

Sophie Walker
Court Watch NYC
New York, NY

As the Queens district attorney (DA) election approached, work relating to Tiffany Cabán ramped up. In addition to the work I did with Court Watch, I spent a great deal of time working for and with VOCAL-NY as well as VOCAL-NY Action Fund, the advocacy and political arm that endorsed Cabán for Queens DA. VOCAL-NY and other organizations organized candidate forums and town halls, and VOCAL members met with candidates to discuss policy, personal experiences, and their expectations as constituents. I made lots of calls asking people to canvass, and I spent time before and on election day canvassing. 

As a first-time canvasser, I was not particularly comfortable in the beginning. Knocking on doors and asking for strangers’ time was intrusive and awkward. While I understand that canvassing is an effective tactic (and if one more person votes as a result, it’s a success), I wish our whole system worked differently so that more conversations could happen about leadership and community in a process that is  perhaps more meaningful. More importantly, barriers to voting, including accessibility, bureaucracy, and discrimination against undocumented people and formerly and currently incarcerated people, continue to exist and prevent many communities from engaging in electoral politics.

I had great conversations with people of many ages and backgrounds, including a high school student who wasn’t eligible to vote yet. She had registered in school but hadn’t turned 18, and yet was happy to talk about the election. Universally, I met people who were thrilled that DA Richard Brown’s longtime run was over. Throughout his 28 years, he had a great impact on communities not only in Queens but all of those connected to Queens throughout New York City and the world.

I met lots of Cabán supporters and lots of Katz supporters while canvassing in different neighborhoods (Jamaica, Corona, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights), and while I assumed Katz would win because she was the established candidate, it was clear Cabán had significant support. As the polls were closing on election day and votes were reported, the results yo-yo’d: Cabán was in the lead by a few hundred votes, then behind by a few hundred, and so on. Any change was incremental.

On my way over to the Cabán election night party at 10:45, it was still unclear whether it would be a gathering for victory or defeat. But by 11 pm, Cabán declared victory; all the precincts had reported, and she was up by around 1,100 votes. On the screen in the packed and energized club, Melinda Katz called for a recount, said she was not conceding, and said something about the beauty of democracy and how justice prevails. 

But Cabán and her staff, organizers, and supporters were celebrating. There was music, drinks, and posters and cards with her face lining the entrance. Her speech and the speeches of organizers on her campaign were moving, and it was thrilling to be there. It felt historical, that a queer Latina public defender would be the Queens DA and would work to de-carcerate Queens, protect immigrants and sex workers, and end cash bail.

The work of the recount quickly began and it was clear that Cabán would not win easily. As it went on, it was clear she would not win at all.

Sophie Walker
Court Watch NYC
New York, NY

During the month of June, I focused mostly on the Queens district attorney (DA) race and the closing of the New York State legislative session—a crash course in elections and New York State legislation as a political newbie. Elected officials are supposed to be accountable to their constituents (the people that elect them), but in practice, it’s complicated, and there are different methods of holding them accountable. 

Political education is a means of engaging and empowering communities, and one way is to remind people to go out and vote when there is an upcoming election. In this vein, I worked with court watchers over a period of three weeks to distribute thousands of copies of an informational booklet written in English, Spanish, and Mandarin at subway stations in Queens (Flushing, Jackson Heights, Long Island City, Jamaica, and Astoria) during rush hour and at the end of the work day.

The booklet uses observations from court watchers in Queens to highlight the immense power and discretion of prosecutors. The booklet also stresses the power of the prosecutor: “In criminal court, the prosecutor is referred to as ‘The People.’ The District Attorney’s decisions are being made in our names” (p. 3). The anonymity in the title, The People, perfectly encapsulates the power and discretion that prosecutors hold; because of prosecutorial immunity, in most states, they cannot be subject to civil or criminal lawsuits for misconduct. 

In one of my first weeks with Court Watch, I attended Color of Change’s Prosecutor Accountability Convening. Organizations and individuals from around the country gathered to reflect on how communities can effectively hold the chief law enforcement officer (the most powerful cop in each county) accountable. But is it even possible to do so? There are different answers. In the eyes of prison abolitionists, the prosecutor will always be adversarial, and the goal is to shrink and ultimately abolish the DA position and office entirely. There are also reformists who might want to work in collaboration with the DA’s office, expanding DA resources to make “better” practices. There has been no precedent for transparency or communication in DA offices, and it has been the norm that the same person is the DA for decades. In Queens, for example, Richard Brown was the DA for 28 years, and in Boston, Daniel Conley was the DA 16 years. 

The June 25 Queens DA Democratic primary (essentially the winner, as a Republican will most likely not win in November) was a highly-anticipated local election that received lots of national and international press. The big contenders were two women from Queens: Tiffany Cabán, a queer Puerto Rican public defender, and Melinda Katz (or Melissa, as referred to by Cuomo), a career politician. Katz is also currently the Queens borough president, a former city council member, and a lobbyist for real-estate developers. This election has been highly contested, as noted in two amNew York articles from July 25 and July 17.

Until next time…

Sophie Walker
Court Watch NYC
New York, NY

My name is Sophie Walker and I am a junior at Gallatin. This summer I will be interning with Court Watch NYC, a collaborative project with the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, 5 Boro Defenders, and VOCAL-NY (Voices of Community Activists and Leaders). Court Watch works to abolish money bail, end mass incarceration, hold elected officials and prosecutors accountable, and create more transparency in the New York City criminal justice system. Through organizing a consistent presence of court watchers in arraignments to collect qualitative and quantitative data, Court Watch works to hold district attorney’s accountable and amplify narratives that are underrepresented in the media.

I began volunteering with Court Watch in October after volunteering in other court systems and reading about Court Watch in a newsletter. A few months before I read Josie Duffy Rice’s article, “Prosecutors Aren’t Just Enforcing the Law— They’re Making It,” and then listened to Rice on The Appeal podcast, Episode 1: “District Attorneys Are the Most Powerful People You’ve Never Heard Of.” I had no awareness of the scope of their role prior to this.

District attorneys (DAs) are elected officials that have great impact and influence in their jurisdiction (and beyond). There are five DAs in New York City (one in every borough), and they each have unique perspectives on the criminal justice system. Some things they are responsible for include deciding what charges and individuals to prosecute, requesting bail, remand (detaining a person until their trial), or consenting to a person’s release on their own recognizance. They have a lot of say in day-to-day proceedings in court.

Though I have lived in New York City for most of my life, I, as a privileged white woman, have unsurprisingly had little contact with the criminal justice system. I was not aware of the scope of the different systems and industries that make up the prison industrial complex (commercial organizations and state/government agencies). I was not aware of how being arrested affects a person’s immigration status and parental rights, and I had no idea that the majority of people on Rikers are detained because they cannot pay cash bail.

This summer I will be learning about and contributing to Court Watch’s organizing efforts for the Queens district attorney campaign (June 25). It’s a huge event, because the prior DA, Richard Brown, held the position for almost 28 years. Additionally, I will be working on an accessibility campaign and ongoing efforts to end cash bail. While I am not yet sure what my position involves day-to-day, I am excited to begin!