WEBINAR: Elevating Trust and Legitimacy for Prosecutors

October 21, 2026 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (EDT)

Description

Public trust and legitimacy are essential to fair and effective prosecution. Procedural justice research shows that people's perceptions of fairness are shaped by case outcomes, whether they are treated with respect, and whether they view the decision-making as neutral and trustworthy. These principles are paramount in responses to gun violence, where the outcomes are affected by victim and witness engagement, community cooperation, and confidence in prosecutorial decision-making. 

Since 2021, the Elevating Trust and Legitimacy for Prosecutors (ETL) Project, a collaborative national initiative by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Yale Law School's Justice Collaboratory, and LaGratta Consulting, has worked with seven prosecutors’ offices to translate these principles into concrete policies and practices. Participating offices examined how procedural justice could strengthen leadership and office culture; improve communication with staff, victims, witnesses, defendants, and community partners; and support more effective responses to gun violence and other serious violence. 

In this webinar, presenters will share findings and practical lessons from the pilot offices, including how internal legitimacy influences external trust; why leadership engagement is critical to sustainable change; what staff, victims, and witnesses identified as strengths and gaps; and how offices can improve communication, transparency, collaboration, and day-to-day decision-making. They will also discuss the project's next phase and how prosecutors' offices can use procedural justice as an applied problem-solving framework for pressing organizational and public safety challenges.

 ***This discussion is part of the Joyce Foundation's monthly virtual Lunch & Learn webinar series. All the webinars in this series are free and open to the public.*** 

NOTE: A free Zoom account is required to register and attend this event. Only the first 1,000 attendees will be able to join the Webinar live