Quote:
Originally Posted by SeattleUte
The outcome of the Duke Lacrosse case lends credence to the idea that prosecutors are, as a class, evil. A necessary evil, but evil all the same. As one who places paramount importance on liberty, I tend to subscribe to that notion as a prophylactic measure if nothing else. Voracious ambition, evangelism, and the awesome power and limitless finances of the state are a scary combination. If one of my sons were involved in this, after I cuffed him up side the head I'd try to strangle the prosecutor with my bare hands. It will be fun to see if the original DA on the case gets disbarred.
Cue UtahDan to come in and correct my facts.
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Man people must think I'm arrogant. I would not presume to correct your facts.
I will add the following observations:
Most prosecutors that I know don't exercise their discretion as often as they should. It is an important part of the job to be able to say "you know, I'm just not pursuing that." Luckily, the office I work the most closely with is great in this area though as a citizen and not defense counsel there are areas I wish they were stronger.
The larger the city, the more ambitious prosecutors you run in to. The ones who are really trying to make their bones are tougher to deal with because they are focused on getting the conviction. I don't think they are evil, but some of them have the primary goal of advancing their careers politcally.
Maybe the biggest problem with prosecutors is that they don't have a client. They don't truly answer to anyone. This leads to less than rational decisions at times. They also get so used to winning (because most people are guilty and have no techincal defenses and frankly becasue most people who are represented are represented by lawyers on the court appointed list who are rarely all-stars) that they are a little arrogant and act like they are supposed to win and that the last thing you want to do is try your case. That's okay with me because I learned early never to be afraid to put your case in front of the court. Plus I love trying criminal cases.
I don't have an illusions about doing something overly noble by doing defense. I'm not on the court appointed list so all my clients are at least well off enough to pay me. The main role I think I play is being on the front line of where the 4th, 5th and 6th amendment meet the road. The police in trying to do their job will try to push the envelope and in many cases run over people's rights. If there was no one there to suppress their evidence when they screw up it would only get worse. Cops have to learn the right way to do things and should be punished for overreaching by seeing their cases go away. I have a great relationship with most of the cops I know locally. I always treat them with respect and in many cases offer to give them a copy of the case I cited and tell them how they could have done it right. Most of them take you right up on that offer. As defense counsel I want to give my people the best defense I can, but as a citizen of where I live I want the police to catch the bad guys and do it in a way that the convinctions stick.