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Carissa Byrne Hessick

@cbhessick.bsky.social

5.7K followers 740 following 250 posts

Criminal law professor at the University of North Carolina Director of the Prosecutors and Politics Project Author of Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Deal

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Political science 36%

Law 27%

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · 23h

I mean the Daniels case. And we will have to agree to disagree about the business records charges in that case.

Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · 1d

But at least some of the criticisms of the Comey indictment can be made about the NYS prosecution of Trump for the Stormy Daniels payments.
There were clear political reasons to bring that case, the underlying actions were far from egregious, and reports from the Manhattan DAs office were troubling

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · 1d

It's tempting to focus only on Trump's public statements to Bondi and others, directing them to indict Comey and the public reports about how career prosecutors warned against bringing the charges against Comey.

These facts all look really horrible, and there are many reasons to criticize this case

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · 1d

Whatever ends up happening in the James Comey prosecution, our country needs to grapple with the fact that public confidence in the impartiality of criminal prosecutions has been terribly damaged over the past few years.

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Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

Josh Vaughn @joshuapvaughn.bsky.social · 2d

Voting ends Oct 9

vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting...

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · 13d

I’m sure that bodes well for getting a conviction at trial

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 13d

New on MSNBC: According to the court transcript, only 14 of the 23 grand jurors voted in favor of indicting James Comey on the two counts that went forward.

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Reposted by Anna O. Law, Will Jennings, Steve Peers , and 6 more Anna O. Law, Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Diane Ravitch, Scott A. Imberman, Steven S. Taylor, Timothy D. McBride, Sheila R. Foster, Carissa Byrne Hessick

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 13d

New on MSNBC: According to the court transcript, only 14 of the 23 grand jurors voted in favor of indicting James Comey on the two counts that went forward.

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Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 15d

Oddly striking how this teenager, in accounting for her admittedly criminal behaviour, frames it as self-care. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"When I eventually encounter the gang, I'm faced with a 14-year-old girl in pink leggings and Crocs.
"I'm not claiming to be innocent because I'm not," she tells us. "I've threatened people and I've hit people, I'll admit to that."
"The second you get into one bit of trouble with the police, you fall into it too deep and you can't get out," she adds.
She says an injury forced her to give up sport and that behaving badly offers an alternative energy release. "I found that I get the same adrenaline boost from being in trouble with the police and being missing and stuff."
But there's little remorse. "I regret what I do, but I don't say sorry," she says to cheers from the rest of the gang.
She seems bright but deeply troubled. She admits drinking and she's vaping while we talk. Muhammad had already told us he had experienced racist abuse - something the girl firmly denies being involved in.
One of her friends chimes in. "I know what we're doing is wrong but we're teenage kids, we're going to have a bit of fun," she tells us. "I'm sorry for most of the people we have damaged, but I have no sympathy… it's just one way of taking my anger out.""

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · 15d

I’m writing a book & it’s keeping me busy!

Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · 16d

Given what’s been happening in DC, I would think no one in DOJ should feel particularly confident about whether a grand jury will indict anyone right now.

FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 16d

FORMER FBI DIRECTOR COMEY EXPECTED TO BE INDICTED IN COMING DAYS IN EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA -NBC REPORTER ON X

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Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 16d

FORMER FBI DIRECTOR COMEY EXPECTED TO BE INDICTED IN COMING DAYS IN EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA -NBC REPORTER ON X

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Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · Aug 21

I decided to look at all 66 prosecutor elections this fall.

Why? Prosecutors have huge power over sentencing, charging, second chances, and even immigration implications.

Here's everything you need to know, from East to West Coast. New from me:

Your Guide to the 2025 Prosecutor Elections - Bolts

Most of November's prosecutor races feature just one candidate, as usual. But key races will shape the politics of criminal justice, from Philly to Seattle — plus a wild card in New Jersey.

boltsmag.org

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · Aug 6

Thanks, Jane!

Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

Prof Jane Mitchell @jane-mitchell.bsky.social · Aug 4

I enjoyed reading through @cbhessick.bsky.social's latest "Prosecutors and Politics" study. Surprising to learn that most media coverage about prosecutors is neutral in tone (only 6% of 2020 coverage about prosecutors was negative). Is that still true in 2025, in today's era of weaponized justice?

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · Jul 24

Just posted my new paper (coauthored with Andy Hessick), called Facts, Policy, and Discretion, which is is forthcoming in the @ucdavislaw.bsky.social law review

We address an important error that I keep seeing in criminal justice cases about the nature of discretion papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · Jul 24

Yup. I think we write symposium papers more quickly, and sometimes include summaries of prior work. Because they're written quickly, I think the summaries tend to be less carefully caveated than our primary work.

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · Jul 23

I’ve been wondering whether we could check professors’ symposium pieces to see a) what their priors are and b) how they perceive the core of their arguments when stripped bare of our ordinary hedging and careful language

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Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · Jul 18

Calling it: Grand Jury Bluesky will be the worst Bluesky so far.

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · Jul 17

Tagging in some folks @steveleben.bsky.social @coreyryung.bsky.social to make sure they see the post . . .

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · Jul 17

Curious whether anyone could tell me more about this statutory restriction on plea bargaining in Kansas.
The conventional wisdom is that the parties will always evade plea bargaining prohibitions. I'm curious whether that has been the experience in KS with this limited carveout

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Reposted by Neil Pederson, Hong, Carissa Byrne Hessick

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Jul 12

I'm a professor at the flagship university for the fourth whitest state in the US. Over 80% of our students are white.

The biggest barrier to access here is that due to lack of state funding, we have top 10 highest tuition per capita of public unis in the country.

We also have a food pantry.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Jul 12

oh, we have some straightforward gutter racism. “the blacks and the browns are the reason white people can’t get ahead” www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

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Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

Roger Parloff @rparloff.bsky.social · Jul 12

DOJ has now fired 26 people who worked on Jack Smith's team. Pure political vengeance against professionals committed to the rule of law.
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

US Justice fires nine more employees from Jack Smith's team, sources say

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday fired at least nine more Justice Department employees who worked for Special Counsel Jack Smith to investigate President Donald Trump's retention of classified records and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to five people familiar with the matter.

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

Erin Gallagher @3r1ng.bsky.social · Jul 12

These 2 paragraphs are bananas. Truly incredible stuff c/o US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Screenshot of 2 paragraphs from linked WSJ article.

Text:
“In a Fox News interview in May, she made the claim that since Trump had taken office, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had seized more than 21 million fentanyl pills, and “that’s 21 million lives saved, in my opinion.” Critics seized on it as a dubious claim, given that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May said synthetic opioids including fentanyl were involved in 48,422 deaths in 2024 and 76,282 deaths in 2023.

Two days later, Bondi said the fentanyl seizures had saved 119 million lives, which would be roughly one-third of the 340 million people living in the U.S. In a cabinet meeting, she revised her statement again, this time claiming the seizures had saved 258 million lives. McGavick posted on social media an equation intended to show that the number of seized pills could hypothetically kill 258 million people.”

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Reposted by Carissa Byrne Hessick

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · Jun 23

I increasingly feel certain that the thing that has driven politics insane is the growing ability of people to find ways to validate their beliefs, no matter how incorrect and irrational. It started in right-wing media but has become central to all political discussion.

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · Jun 11

(Teaching kids how a sports bracket works = important knowledge)

Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · Jun 11

That’s awful. From what I can tell, at least some teachers here are using the week to have fun activities—a science-related scavenger hunt for the middle school kid and a double-elimination pool noodle fencing tournament for the elementary school kid.

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Reposted by Rod Dacombe, Paul Nesbitt‐Larking, Carissa Byrne Hessick

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · May 28

Leavitt: "Electricians, plumbers -- we need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University. And that's what this administration's position is."

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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · May 25

Is that somehow related to Pinker’s essay? Or the question of whether to frame criticism of Israel in terms of antisemitism?

Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · May 24

👀

Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · May 24

Important statistics. But questionable claim that SCOTUS isn’t willing to defend the rule of law.

Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · May 24

Stunning. May was brutal for Trump in federal court: 96% loss rate ⚖️. Even GOP-appointed judges have ruled against the admin 72% of the time. District courts are doing their job defending the Constitution. Soon the Supreme Court may be the only court unwilling to defend the rule of law.

Infographic titled “Judges reject Trump at an accelerating pace” with subtitle “Federal district court rulings against the administration.”

The first bar chart, labeled “By month, %”, shows the percentage of federal district court rulings against the Trump administration:
• February: 53.8% (7 out of 13)
• March: 74.3% (26 out of 35)
• April: 76.1% (51 out of 67)
• May: 96.3% (26 out of 27)

The second bar chart, labeled “By appointing party, %”, shows rulings against the Trump administration by the party of the judge’s appointing president:
• Republican-appointed judges: 72.2% (26 out of 36)
• Democratic-appointed judges: 80.4% (74 out of 92)

Source: Bonica, Adam; Sen, Maya, 2025, “Common-space Measures of Judicial Ideology for Federal Judges (2024 update),” https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/CK3EEL
Note: Coding scheme details available at data4democracy.substack.com/p/when-judges-become-targets-judicial

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