'A prosecutor is a lawyer with convictions'.

• Author: Cassilly, Joseph I.
• Position: President's page

THE FOLLOWING is an excerpt of remarks I delivered at this year's career prosecutor course.

I assume that if you have come to the career prosecutor course that you intend to be a prosecutor for some substantial portion of your life. Let us understand what it is to be a prosecutor.

A prosecutor is a lawyer for the State with the power to do justice or incredible harm. He is a leader not only in the criminal justice community but in the larger community that he serves. He is expected to be an example of respect for the law to those who know him or deal with him.

As a prosecutor you cannot escape being a leader. Whether you are the elected or appointed chief prosecutor, a managing assistant prosecutor or the prosecutor who is on their own for the first time in court, people around you will follow your lead. It may be the police officer who violated, deliberately or accidentally, the constitutional rights of a criminal that watches your response to know whether he can do it again. It may be the investigator who puts in long hours diligently preparing his case who watches the prosecutor's handling of the case to decide if it is worth it to put that effort into the next case. It may be the prosecutor's friends who watch him at a party to see if he believes the laws against drunk driving apply to him.

A prosecutor is a leader to these people and many more in the prosecutor's community who see the role of a state's attorney, a district attorney, or an attorney general as extending beyond the entrance to the courthouse.

The prosecutor's willingness to lead within the various branches of government is critical to a successful system of justice. In the executive branch, the prosecutor who meets with police, prison officials, probation and parole, mental health and drug counselors, social services, schools, recreation organizers and many others can do much to shape the direction of services and spur new initiatives to answer problems of juvenile crime, substance abuse, domestic violence and prisoner reentry. If you are not meeting with them, you are not ready for the job.

By interacting with legislatures at the local, state and federal level, the prosecutor can give an accurate assessment of the impact of crime and the effectiveness of solutions in their communities. It is important for prosecutors to always remember that legislators run for office thinking they know all the problems and have all the answers. They are bombarded by groups with a very...