10 questions. A league of his own

• Author: Jenny B. Davis
• Pages: 13-14

As a busy general practice and

land use lawyer, Rob Frost

is accustomed to wearing

many hats. Every summer,

he adds one more: a baseball hat. Frost,

who practices with the Knoxville, Ten-

nessee, rm Arnett, Draper & Hagood,

is part owner of the Forest City Owls

of Forest City, North Carolina, one of

the 16 baseball teams that make up

10 QUESTIONS

A League

of His Own

This Tennessee attorney is having

a ball owning a baseball team

BY JENNY B. DAVIS

Inter Alia | 10 QUESTIONS

Photos courtesy of Rob Frost

the Coastal Plain

League, a collegiate

summer league.

Every summer start-

ing in late May, college players from

across the country join these leagues

to gain experience, improve their game

and hopefully get scouted by Major

League Baseball. Among Frost’s myriad

elected prosecutors who are taking bold

and courageous steps to redene justice

in the 21st century.

Earlier this year, I led a group of

those prosecutors to Berlin to witness

rsthand Germany’s more humane

approach to justice. On a personal level,

it was difcult to travel to a country

responsible for the atrocities of the

Holocaust and face ghosts of the past.

But it was also heartening to see how

Germany has reckoned with its shame-

ful history. And there is much we can

learn from that.

That’s why we decided to engage a

group of inspiring leaders in conver-

sation at the House of the Wannsee

Conference, where the “nal solution

to the Jewish problem” was planned—

mostly by attorneys. In this place, we

were offered a stark reminder of how a

society can relinquish its soul to a small

group of individuals willing to engage

in unthinkable deeds. The Holocaust

came to fruition not simply due to the

co-conspirators at Wannsee, but due to

the lack of courageous leadership em-

bodied in the silence and acquiescence

of an entire nation.

Warning bells were ignored in

Germany pre-World War II, and history

reminds us of the need for vigilance,

and that leaders, especially elected pros-

ecutors, must step up with the courage

those at the House of Wannsee, and an

entire nation of bystanders, lacked.

District attorneys have a bully pulpit.

They are not simply elected ofcials, but

also protectors of the rule of law and

ministers of our justice system. Prose-

cutors can and should combat attempts

to marginalize immigrants by resisting

actions like the invasions of courthous-

es by U.S. Immigration and Customs

Enforcement that jeopardize the safety

and cooperation of victims and the

detention of children and family sepa-

rations that create generational legacies

of trauma. Prosecutors can play a vital

role in protecting the most vulnerable in

our community from abuse—whether

by individual perpetrators or by those

who act in the name of government.

Anti-immigration policies are being

fueled by false narratives around public

safety and crime—and who better than

criminal justice leaders to push back

with the truth: that research shows

immigrants commit fewer crimes than

citizens, and no matter what, human

rights should come rst. And if those

charged with protecting our system of

justice don’t stand tall in the face of the

erosion of rights—including by govern-

ment—in the name of “security” and

“nationalism,” then who will?

False narratives undermine the

essence of our society—the freedom and

justice that made the U.S. a place that

my father so desperately wanted to call

home. But assaults on truth and fairness

can only succeed if leaders, and all of

us, are enablers.

From being out front on immigration

like DAs Eric Gonzalez and Rachael

Rollins, to holding off attacks that

restrict access to abortions like Sherry

Boston, to promoting use of overdose

prevention sites that save lives like Lar-

ry Krasner and Dan Satterberg, a new

generation of prosecutors exemplies

boldness. They have broken barriers,

and now more than ever, we need them

to use the loud megaphone they have as

elected leaders. Wannsee is a frightening

reminder of what’s at stake and what

happens when they stand silent. Q

Miriam Aroni Krinsky spent 15 years as

a federal prosecutor and is the executive

director of Fair and Just Prosecution.

ownership responsibilities: recruiting

players, designing merchandise for the

fan shop, selling program and outeld

wall advertising, helping run the team’s

social media accounts, planning various

game-time activities like Owl Mania

(with professional wrestlers), choosing

the food and beverage lineup for the

concession stands and anything else the

team needs to make sure that all bases

are covered.

I assume you’re a baseball fan.

How did you happen to buy a

team?

I have loved America’s game for a very

long time. Over the years, I have been

to about 90 major league, minor league

and college baseball parks, and I try to

go to new ones every year. Admittedly,

with the players’ strike a long time ago,

I got frustrated and quit paying atten-

Rob Frost (right)

and family

Continued from page 12

ABA JOURNAL | WINTER 2019-2020

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