Molly Miller
Molly Miller is a playwright and screenwriter born and raised in Washington State. She is a graduate of The University of Chicago (BA Political Science) and the University of Southern California (MFA Screenwriting). Molly began her career as an actor in Chicago, improvising and writing sketch at The Annoyance Theatre, The Second City, and The iO Theatre. While performing, Molly wrote over a dozen plays and musicals including the long running comedy, Double Booked and the critically acclaimed musical Tribulation. Now a resident of Los Angeles, Molly is a staff writer on an upcoming drama for Spectrum TV/BET and her comedy pilot, BETTER HOMES & BUNKERS, is currently in development at Tornante. In addition to her work as a screenwriter Molly explores her passion for criminal justice as a reporter for crimestory.com and a writer for the podcast JURY DUTY: THE TRIAL OF ROBERT DURST. She is the recipient of the USC Annenberg Fellowship, the John Wells Summer Mentorship, the Edward Small Writing Award, the UChicago Metcalf Fellowship, and the UChicago Arts Grant.
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The Second L.A. D.A. Debate: A View From the Front Row
It was minutes after the conclusion of the most recent District Attorney debate in downtown Los Angeles and the crowd was just starting to spill from the Aratani Theatre. Among them, a man garbed in khakis and a gingham button-up held a cellphone to his ear and kept his eyes on the ground as he gave the listener his take on the event.
“You know how it feels like the world is fucking on fire? Yeah, this was no different.”
The DA debate on Wednesday, January 29 was a melee: part protest, part political cage match and part radio broadcast. No...
Third Floor Madness
I’ve long suspected that the third floor of the downtown Los Angeles criminal courts building is the busiest waiting room in the world. At 9:00 each morning its halls are bristling with fleet-footed defense attorneys, well-tailored Deputy DAs, smiley clerks, jittery defendants, huddled family members, animated translators, bleary-eyed witnesses and boisterous police officers.
The collection results in a rowdy rumble more reminiscent of a school assembly than a courthouse.
The third floor is home to the preliminary courts. On an average day, each court has roughly 20 items on its docket. That’s 20 cases that must be heard before the presiding...
PART 3 — PODCAST SPECIAL: The First Los Angeles District Attorney Debate
This is the third part of a three part look at the First Los Angeles District Attorney Debate of the 2020 election cycle. You can find part 1 of this series here and part 2 of the series here.
On December 19, 2019 USC Law Professor Jody Armour moderated the first Los Angeles DA debate in which candidates George Gascón and Rachel Rossi squared off over a host of criminal justice issues. Conspicuously missing from the event was incumbent Jackie Lacey, who cited a scheduling conflict. In today’s Podcast Special, we examine the responses of George Gascón and Rachel Rossi...
CalGang
According to the California Department of Justice, you are eligible for inclusion on CalGang, a statewide database of gang members and gang associates, if you meet two or more of the following criteria:
1. You have admitted to being a gang member.
2. You have been arrested for offenses consistent with gang activity.
3. You have been identified as a gang member by a reliable informant.
4. You have been seen associating with documented gang members.
5. You have been seen displaying gang symbols and/or hand signs.
6. You have been seen frequenting...
PART 2 — PODCAST SPECIAL: The First Los Angeles District Attorney Debate
This is the second part of a three part look at the First Los Angeles District Attorney Debate of the 2020 election cycle. You can find part 1 of this series here.
On December 19, 2019 USC Law Professor Jody Armour moderated the first Los Angeles DA debate in which candidates George Gascón and Rachel Rossi squared off regarding a host of criminal justice issues. Conspicuously missing from the event was incumbent Jackie Lacey who cited a scheduling conflict. In today’s Podcast Special, we examine the responses of George Gascón and Rachel Rossi to questions about the DA’s Conviction Review...
A Public Defender Speaks
When I moved to LA, I dreaded living in a city famous for its superficiality but I reassured myself that I was also settling in a mecca of progressive ideals. Marijuana is legal, gay marriage is celebrated, and the state is plastered with blue on every political rendering. Welcome to California, or as Jack Donaghy of 30 Rock called it, “The People’s Gaypublic of Drugifornia.”
Given what I knew, I assumed that in LA, the District Attorney’s Office would be at the forefront of criminal justice reform.
Apparently not. “We’re all cognizant of the fact that LA County’s really behind. Embarrassingly...
