Obama penned a Harvard Law Review article that does not mention Trump by name, but reminds future presidents they “exert substantial influence over the direction of the U.S. criminal justice system.”

“Those privileged to serve as president and in senior roles in the executive branch have an obligation to use that influence to enhance the fairness and effectiveness of the justice system at all phases,” Obama writes.

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Obama is fighting an uphill battle in urging Trump to keep his policies in place.





But Trump has not laid out his own specific proposals on criminal justice issues, and Obama took a final opportunity to argue in favor of his approach before he leaves office.

Congress failed to pass a bipartisan sentencing reform measure at Obama’s urging. But he took a litany of unilateral actions to help ease mass incarceration and reform police departments accused of racially biased practices.

He has offered clemency to more federal inmates than the past 11 presidents combined, mostly non-violent drug offenders. He has issued an executive order aimed at preventing employers from blackballing convicted felons. And his Justice Department launched a data initiative to keep better track of police-related killings.

Senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said continued support for those policies in both political parties, as well as talk on Capitol Hill of reviving sentencing reform legislation, “gives us reason to be optimistic” Obama’s approach could live on.

Publishing his arguments in the Harvard Law Review carries symbolic meaning for Obama. He became the first black president of the publication as a law student there in 1990.