By Ross Parker The greater majority of Americans long assumed that the criminal court system worked just fine. With criminal defendants afforded substantive Constitutional rights, many people assumed the nation’s prison held no innocent men or women. This blithe assumption was upset in recent times by the use of DNA technology in post-conviction settings, which…
Some believe that prosecutors are the most powerful figures in the criminal justice system. Many of their decisions are virtually unreviewable: charging, case disposition, dismissals, plea bargains, and sentence recommendations, to name a few. Local and State prosecutors can be held accountable to the voters.. But given the power of incumbency, that checks and balance…
Being a federal agent or attorney is a serious job, not only sometimes dangerous, but it involves personal sacrifices and long and stressful hours. So why does it continue to be such a popular career choice and why are camaraderie and high morale present in so many federal law enforcement and Justice Department offices? After…
I saw Griffin Bell’s name every morning for almost three decades when I entered my office in the Detroit U. S. Attorney’s Office. His signature was on the DOJ certificate which hung behind my desk. His death this week, at age 90, brings to mind subjects like civility and the gradual approach to solving problems…
With the arrival of a new administration in Washington will come a hoard of new faces at the top of nearly every department and agency. Nowhere is this event viewed with more consternation than among the working stiffs in the 93 U. S. Attorneys’ Offices. And I can only assume that something similar occurs in…
Arguably, the most important product America has to give to the third world nations and emerging democracies in a dangerous and volatile world is not foreign aid or preventive military action but support for the rule of law. Several hundred federal law enforcement officers and attorneys sacrifice personal security and the comforts of hearth and…
Dear President-elect Obama, Congratulations on your election by the American people to be their Chief Executive. Now comes the hard part. I write this letter to provide some unsolicited advice about one of your most important duties, the enforcement of federal law. Neither you nor your opponent said much about crime or law enforcement during…
The alarming and increasingly close working relationship between the $300 billion global narcotics market and worldwide terrorist organizations was underscored last week by two federal cases in Miami and New York. The cases also underscored something else: The urgent need for the U.S. to develop a smarter, more comprehensive plan to cut off the drug…
