Prosecutorial Accountability Quotes

Federal criminal prosecutions are a direct function of the number of U. S. Attorneys. The more prosecutors that are appointed, the more criminal prosecutions there will be.

Prosecutors are assessed by their win-loss records, not by whether they have furthered the cause of justice.

Prosecutorial misconduct is one of the most detrimental problems in our criminal justice system, because prosecutors are essentially the most powerful actors in our justice system because they set the charges, they basically set up the rules of the game.

As a former prosecutor, I never presented a case in front of the grand jury that didn't result in an indictment. Bottom line: If a prosecutor wants to indict a case, the case gets indicted.

As a young prosecutor, I used the Bureau of Criminal Investigation extensively. I saw that there were problems with BCI. Frankly, I thought I could fix them. I thought if I was successful, I could really make a difference as attorney general.

In countries that lack a longstanding and entrenched commitment to the rule of law, it can be hard to recruit, train and keep prosecutors and judges who are both independent and effective, even in the face of attempted intimidation or corruption.

Prosecutors, unlike any other official in our system, … are not as accountable… to the public that they serve Police officers do what they do in a public space. Judges are in a courtroom... Prosecutors make their charging decisions and plea bargain decisions behind closed doors…. There is no transparency … There is a lot of unconscious and implicit bias.

We shouldn't tell prosecutors to 'pick and choose' what laws to uphold.

Prosecutors are not disciplined or disbarred for a bad prosecution. Defense attorneys are.

Attorneys general, district attorneys, and federal prosecutors have a responsibility to separate their politics from their law enforcement powers.

District attorneys are often some of the finest public servants. However, the system in which they operate to investigate cases of police misconduct leaves a huge window for unintended bias.

I always thought that was one of the single most important things a prosecutor could do is to seek justice for the families of victims.

I would encourage the people out in Chicago and all of us to continue to press for, that type of prosecutorial accountability.