U.S. Prosecutor Database

Last Updated: December 14th, 2024

Looking For Maintainer

The U.S. Prosecutor Database is looking for its next maintainer. If you have a vision of how to create a public, searchable database, ledger, or chain which everyday users can interact with through a simple UI/UX front-end, please submit a PR and we'll make sure this project lives on through your contributions.

---

Setting Up

To run the app locally on your machine:

1. install node & npm (see official docs)
2. install meteor via terminal: npm install -g meteor (see official docs)
3. npm install
4. meteor run & open http://localhost:3000/ in your browser

Adding Data to your local environment

To play around with data:

1. in a new (simultaneous) terminal tab: meteor mongo
2. verify that the show collections command produces the Attorneys collection
3. insert a new document using the api folder .js files as a base. Make sure it contains the name, state, & role--otherwise it won't work. Example: db.Attorneys.insertOne({"id": "ag-01","state": "Alabama","name": "Steve Marshall","role": "Attorney General"})
4. check on the app in your browser; it should automatically refresh

JSON Structure

"name": "Rachael Rollins",
"role": "District Attorney",
"state": "Massachusetts",
"county": "Suffolk",
"party": "democrat",
"ageRange": "40-50",
"gender": "female",
"race": "black",
"appointed": "1601640275", // Unix Time Stamp: https://www.unixtimestamp.com/index.php
"headshot": "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c671e8e2727be4ad82ff1e9...",
"websites": {
  "url": "https://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/about-the-office/meet-district...",
  "wiki": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachael_Rollins",
  "facebook": "https://www.facebook.com/Rollins4DA",
  "twitter": "https://twitter.com/DARollins",
 },
"office": {
  "address": {
    "poBox": "",
    "courthouse": "Suffolk County District Attorney",
    "street": "1 Bulfinch Place",
    "city": "Boston",
    "zipcode": "02114",
    "phone": "(617) 619-4000"
  },
  "email": ""
},
"articles": [
  0: {
    "title": "Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins releases list of police officers with ‘ques...",
    "url": "https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2020/09/26/rachael-rollins-rele...",
    "summary": "Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins Friday night released...",
    "featuredImage": "https://www.boston.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CV3ZAWH2OJHFRFOWGSND..."
  }
 ]

Production: https://us-prosecutor-database.herokuapp.com/

---

Important Links

• View the live web app (coming soon)
• Read the Docs (GitHub README.md)
• View the Docs (website)
• What do Prosecutors have to do with Police Brutality?
• Our History

---

Community

Maintainers

Would you like to help maintain this project? Email me (link in profile).

Contributors

Interested in contributing to the web app? You'll find dev notes in the DOCS.md. Our stack is: Node.js, Meteor.js, MongoDB, Heroku.

We also need help with documentation for the GitHub page: https://billimarie.github.io/prosecutor-database. You can use the DOCS.md & the Hacktoberfest Issue as references to update our outdated GitHub page.

---

Post-Carceral

Post-Carceral is a digital community group of volunteers working on civic tech projects (like the US Prosecutor Database) in service of working toward a post-carceral ("beyond prison") world.

Stay Updated

• Sign up for our mailing list.
• You can also find USPD updates on our Twitter: @USProsecutorDB.
• To get involved in a remote Sunday session, follow @postcarceral. This is our general prisoners' rights group responsible for housing the USPD project.

Volunteer

You don't have to be a developer or a prisoners' rights activist to join. We're looking for all types of people with all types of interests & expertise to collaborate with.

Datathons: On Sundays, we hang out remotely and discuss recent prosecutor news, primary results, & campaigns. We also brainstorm new ways to collect data (considering the strange logic of the prosecutorial system, especially as it differs between localities & regions). If you'd like to join, send me an email.

Back to Top

---

License

The USPD is an open-source community project built to house data about current and previous US Prosecutors (copyright (c) 2017 - 2020 Billimarie Lubiano Robinson). It is licensed under GNU GPLv3. This means you are able to use, modify, & distribute USPD as long as the following conditions are met:

• Acknowledge the original source (this repository & its contributors)
• Apply the same license & copyright usage
• Make public any changes, updates, or improvements upon USPD

For more information, please view the LICENSE.md file.

Back to Top