Miriam Krinsky is the founder and executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), a group focused on organizing, training, and promoting elected prosecutors, including state and district attorneys, who adopt lenient, left-progressive approaches to criminal justice. ^{1 2}

She has worked as a policy consultant for the California Endowment, was the president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and served on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, California Judicial Council, and California State Bar Board of Trustees, the American Law Institute (ALI) Sentencing Project Advisory group, and ALI’s Principles of Policing Advisory Group. ³

Krinsky has contributed multiple times to candidates including Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton and Los Angeles city attorney Mike Feuer (D). ⁴

Career

Krinsky attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics, then earned a law degree at the University of California School of Law. She worked as a lecturer at the UCLA School of Public Policy and as an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School. ⁵

She began her career in law by practicing at the Los Angeles law firm of Hufstedler, Miller, Carlson & Beardsley. She then spent 15 years as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, California, and worked with an organized crime and narcotics task force. Krinsky is a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California and, during that time, served as the chief of the General Crimes Section and the chief of the Criminal Appellate Section. She also served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on Sentencing and was chair of the national Solicitor General’s Advisory Group on Appellate Issues. ^{6 7}

Krinsky worked as a policy consultant for the California Endowment, a left-leaning grantmaking organization that bills itself as the largest private health foundation in California with $3 billion in assets. ^{8 9}

She was the executive director of the Los Angeles County’s Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence, which was created to investigate allegations of excessive force by sheriff’s deputies in Los Angeles County jails. Due to her position on the Commission on Jail Violence, Krinsky then became the director of the Sheriff’s Transition Team and worked for a year as a special advisor to the Sheriff. She also served as a co-director for the transition team of the Los Angeles City Attorney. ^{10 11}

Krinsky was also the president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, served on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, California Judicial Council and California State Bar Board of Trustees, the American Law Institute (ALI) Sentencing Project Advisory group, and ALI’s Principles of Policing Advisory Group. She is still currently listed as a member of the American Law Institute on its website. ¹²

Krinsky is the founder and executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) a group focused on organizing, training, and promoting elected prosecutors, including State and District Attorneys, who adopt lenient, left-progressive approaches to criminal justice. It is a fiscally sponsored project of the Tides Center, a left-of-center advocacy organization created to “incubate” new activist organizations until they acquire their own tax-exempt status. ^{13 14 15}

She was also the executive director of the Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles, a legal services organization formed in 1990 that represents over 20,000 neglected and abused children. Krinsky stepped down from the position in 2006, citing the difficulty of one person doing day-to-day legal work combined with policy reform work. ¹⁶

Employees complained at the time that under Krinsky’s leadership, many experienced attorneys left the organization only to be replaced by people who were inexperienced in the job. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, investigators and lawyers at the organization, who were represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 660, stated in a letter that the organization consisted of “deteriorating conditions,” calling the situation a “crisis” that diminished employees’ ability to “provide quality representation” to the children. ¹⁷

Political Contributions

According to OpenSecrets, Krinsky has contributed multiple times to Democratic Party candidates including Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton and Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer. ¹⁸

1. “Our Work And Vision.” Fair and Just Prosecution. Accessed March 3, 2022. fairandjustprosecution.org/about-fjp/our-work-and-vision/.
2. “Our Team.” Fair and Just Prosecution. Accessed March 3, 2022. fairandjustprosecution.org/about-fjp/our-team/.
3. “Miriam A. Krinsky.” American Law Institute. May 3, 2022. Accessed March 3, 2022. www.ali.org/members/member/222024/.
4. “Miriam Krinsky Donations.” OpenSecrets. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=miriam+krinsky.
5. “Miriam Krinsky.” Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://ccjv.lacounty.gov/miriam-aroni-krinsky/.
6. “Our Team.” Fair and Just Prosecution. Accessed March 3, 2022. fairandjustprosecution.org/about-fjp/our-team/.
7. “Miriam Krinsky.” Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://ccjv.lacounty.gov/miriam-aroni-krinsky/.
8. “Our Story.” The California Endowment. Accessed March 3, 2022. www.calendow.org/our-story/.
9. “Miriam A. Krinsky.” American Law Institute. May 3, 2022. Accessed March 3, 2022. www.ali.org/members/member/222024/.
10. “Our Team.” Fair and Just Prosecution. Accessed March 3, 2022. fairandjustprosecution.org/about-fjp/our-team/.
11. “Miriam A. Krinsky.” American Law Institute. May 3, 2022. Accessed March 3, 2022. www.ali.org/members/member/222024/.
12. “Miriam A. Krinsky.” American Law Institute. May 3, 2022. Accessed March 3, 2022. www.ali.org/members/member/222024/.
13. “Our Work And Vision.” Fair and Just Prosecution. Accessed March 3, 2022. fairandjustprosecution.org/about-fjp/our-work-and-vision/.
14. “Donate.” Fair and Just Prosecution. Accessed March 3, 2022. fairandjustprosecution.org/about-fjp/donate/.
15. “Our Team.” Fair and Just Prosecution. Accessed March 3, 2022. fairandjustprosecution.org/about-fjp/our-team/.
16. Rosenblatt, Susannah. “Head of Childrens Law Center steps down amid agency turmoil.” Los Angeles Times. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-16-me-abuse16-story.html.
17. Rosenblatt, Susannah. “Head of Childrens Law Center steps down amid agency turmoil.” Los Angeles Times. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-16-me-abuse16-story.html.
18. “Miriam Krinsky Donations.” OpenSecrets. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=miriam+krinsky.