Guest Post - The Anonymous Prosecutor Vents

It seems that the purpose of blogging from the criminal defense bar is to complain about ignorant prosecutors that don't understand the lives of criminals defendants, or to talk about how great you are as a defense attorney.  I realize there is a certain marketing aspect to the legal blog, but come on.

I approached Matlock about posting something on his blog with the understanding that it was COMPLETELY anonymous.  With that understanding, I wanted to put a quick spin on the daily grind from your friendly neighborhood prosecutor's perspective.  

Therefore, I present my Top Ten Things Prosecutors Hate About Defense Attorneys

10.  General Rudeness.  This should go without saying, but it seems that defense attorneys forget this all too often.  We work together on a daily basis.  Be civil.  Being rude is never going to help your client.

9.  Forgetting I have other cases, too.  Yeah, I have other cases.  In fact, I might actually have more ongoing cases than you.  Don't feel slighted if I can't drop everything to do your bidding.  On that note...

8.  Expecting me to do your job for you.  It's a crazy system, but I have a job and you have a job.  The judge has a job and, well, you get it.  Just because I know what you should be doing in a given case, and you know I know what you should be doing, don't expect me to do it for you.

7.  "Expecting" anything to be done on a case.  Every case is different.  Every criminal defendant is different.  You know this and I know this.  Don't walk into court and "expect" me to make you the same deal.  

6.  Forgetting I have a boss and office policies.  I don't get to make this stuff up as I go.  As much as I would like to dismiss the crappy case, I can't.  As much as I would like to reduce it to a misdemeanor, I can't.  I have a boss.  We have office policies.  If I want to have this job next week, I have to follow them.  Don't like it, then take it up with my boss.

5.  Acting like a bigshot.  Guess, what?  You're probably not as good as you think you are.  I know you have to look good in front of your clients, but it should stop there.  Yes, there are those of you that are good at what you do, and there are those of you that shouldn't be let in the front door.  We know who you are.

4.  Don't know the law.  This is really not that hard.  You should never show up to court without at least having read the applicable statute, and...

3.  Don't the facts of the case.  You should also know what the case is about.  They are your clients, right?  I shouldn't have to tell you anything about the case, at least not here in Tarrant County where we have an open file policy.  

2.  Don't come prepared with your file.  Tarrant County is a terrific place to be a prosecutor.  The office is fantastic.  An example is that the District Attorney's office is digital, that is defense discovery is available via the internet.  While I don't pretend to understand how it works, I know that defense attorneys can download the discovery.  Showing up to court and "expecting" me to show you the case on my laptop is not going to work.  Ever.

1.  Lying.  This seems so obvious that I feel bad about including it.   But it's true.  We work together on a daily basis.  Chances are, we will work on dozens of cases together personally throughout our respective careers.  Don't lie.  If I am too careless to do my homework and find out your client has two prior felony convictions, that's on me if I don't even bother to ask you.  But if I ask you and you lie to me, bad things happen.  You may slide it by on this case, but sooner or later we will find out if you lie, and you will lose any credibility you have with me and my colleagues.  Remember, we talk about you as much (or more) than you talk about us.

Comments

[gravyrug]

I'm not a lawyer at all, but it seems to me all those points could easily go both ways.

[Cat]

8. Expecting me to do your job for you.

1. If I am too careless to do my homework....But if I ask you and you lie to me, bad things happen.

Bit of a contradiction here don't you think?

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

With all due respect for prosecutors and the tough job they have to do, the following grievance strikes me as pathetic whining:

6. Forgetting I have a boss and office policies. I don't get to make this stuff up as I go. As much as I would like to dismiss the crappy case, I can't. As much as I would like to reduce it to a misdemeanor, I can't. I have a boss. We have office policies. If I want to have this job next week, I have to follow them. Don't like it, then take it up with my boss.

Oh, poor you.

Defense lawyers aren't forgetting, they're serving as the necessary counter-irritant to your petty office politics. (FTR, if it's truly office politics, it's petty and orthogonal to justice, no matter what industry we're talking about.)

If you think a case is worthless and you choose to prosecute it anyway because of office politics, you deserve to have someone rubbing your face in it.

In fact, as a taxpayer, I'm proud to pay a PD to be that person. Actually, that would be right up there with filling potholes on my list of tax dollars well-spent. If it's miserable and expensive for a prosecutor to go through with a worthless case, maybe the prosecutor's office will start rethinking the policies that lead to worthless prosecutions.

Yes, it's your career advancement on the line, but it's potentially years of someone else's life at stake, not to mention untold numbers of tax dollars for the trial. If you've lost sight of that, maybe you should rethink prosecution as a line of work.

[honeee]

A the risk of sounding rude... Lawyers on both side frequently sound whiney. I have been personal witness to DA's outright lying, as well as Defense counsel(to the defendant!!) I am of the belief that the "justice" system has eroded to the lowest level of simple ego battles between lawyers. It would seem a rare moment when either the interest of the taxpayer or the good of the individual is the most important issue. Case in point: The Prosecutor's (author) criminal assumption of a defendant. Color me crazy, BUT I was under the assumption, in our democratic, Constitutional system that ALL defendants are innocent until PROVEN guilty. It is the prosecutor's job to find the evidence and FACTS that make a case to find guilt. And if the facts don't exist, making them up, bullying or politics are not a good alternative. That may come as a surprise to many in this line of work. That would also explain the large number of exhonerations and even larger figures of unjustly or inappropriately charged and incarcerated individuals. But I digress, I am glad you wrote and listed the issues you did. They apply equally to both sides.

[Sojourner Truth]

Fantastic post Honeee.

Now onto the anonymous prosecutor - After reading this list, I find that the posting prosecutor is likely unfit to serve.

Making office police the horse that drives you is a big big mistake. For starters, you can be held personally liable for some of this stuff, it it's really egregious.

You serve in the interest of justice, and only justice. You are not supposed to be a tired paper pusher who is annoyed by the fact that in Texas the best criminal attorneys are hands down the one's working for the defense. You are not supposed to be affected in the way you handle cases by how someone acted towards you when the life of the criminally accused (or years of it) is at stake. You obviously have an ego problem, and that is interfering with your work. (See the Act like a bigshot grievance).

Really, I just see alot of whiney excuses that have made Texas injustice (it's not justice) the cesspool that it is. Death by bureaucracy, ego and a lack of personal responsibility, meted out one prosecutor at a time.

You don't have to be a good lawyer to be a prosecutor in Texas, because the state basically does everything it can to subvert the federal civil rights era reforms in the judicial system. How many criminal hearings do we have that give the appearance of probably cause that really don't exist, for example? Unfortunately, this means the prosecutor's aren't kept on their toes, and it shows.

Thank goodness the tide is finally turning in that regard. Thank you Craig Watkins. The office of prosecutor is not meant to be a powertrip, a job entitlement, or an ego booster. It's breathtakingly serious.

[Sojourner Truth]

Fantastic post Honeee.

Now onto the anonymous prosecutor - After reading this list, I find that the posting prosecutor is likely unfit to serve.

Making office police the horse that drives you is a big big mistake. For starters, you can be held personally liable for some of this stuff, it it's really egregious.

You serve in the interest of justice, and only justice. You are not supposed to be a tired paper pusher who is annoyed by the fact that in Texas the best criminal attorneys are hands down the one's working for the defense. You are not supposed to be affected in the way you handle cases by how someone acted towards you when the life of the criminally accused (or years of it) is at stake. You obviously have an ego problem, and that is interfering with your work. (See the Act like a bigshot grievance).

Really, I just see alot of whiney excuses that have made Texas injustice (it's not justice) the cesspool that it is. Death by bureaucracy, ego and a lack of personal responsibility, meted out one prosecutor at a time.

You don't have to be a good lawyer to be a prosecutor in Texas, because the state basically does everything it can to subvert the federal civil rights era reforms in the judicial system. How many criminal hearings do we have that give the appearance of probably cause that really don't exist, for example? Unfortunately, this means the prosecutor's aren't kept on their toes, and it shows.

Thank goodness the tide is finally turning in that regard. Thank you Craig Watkins. The office of prosecutor is not meant to be a powertrip, a job entitlement, or an ego booster. It's breathtakingly serious.

[RegularGuy]

I always sit and shake my head when I read one attorney criticizing another attorney.

What was that old saying about the pot calling the kettle black?

The fact is, in order to be an attorney, you have to be amoral. There is no true right or wrong, just a client to represent.

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