Duke DA Disbarred
A cautionary tale for any attorney trying to make a name for him/herself in the press. Nifong, appointed to the office and running for election for the first time to retain the job, was recently stripped of his law license.
Not to excuse his prosecutorial misconduct, but the Jamestown Lawyer has always been somewhat perplexed by campaigns for the office of DA. In order to get elected, one has to pretty much be a fire & brimstone "lock them up and melt the key and then make them eat it" sort of candidate, on whatever the hot button issue of the day is. No one is ever going to win the office by saying "Well, I have concerns about sexual offender civil incarceration, and I feel as a percentage of criminals they are a small portion of the problem, considering the recidivism rates found in our drug offenders locally." That sort of answer, or one equally frank, earns one a continuing private practice and not the office in Mayville (or Canton, Buffalo, Lake Pleasant, Lowville, Lake George, etc.)
Not to excuse his prosecutorial misconduct, but the Jamestown Lawyer has always been somewhat perplexed by campaigns for the office of DA. In order to get elected, one has to pretty much be a fire & brimstone "lock them up and melt the key and then make them eat it" sort of candidate, on whatever the hot button issue of the day is. No one is ever going to win the office by saying "Well, I have concerns about sexual offender civil incarceration, and I feel as a percentage of criminals they are a small portion of the problem, considering the recidivism rates found in our drug offenders locally." That sort of answer, or one equally frank, earns one a continuing private practice and not the office in Mayville (or Canton, Buffalo, Lake Pleasant, Lowville, Lake George, etc.)
posted by TM at 8:15 AM
1 Comments:
Ha! I would vote for that second candidate (but I know he or she would lose).
At least we get some sense of the character and experience of those running for DA. In other offices though, it seems to be purely a popularity contest. For example, it is very difficult to discern anything about those wanting to become a state justice that ultimately will have a say, perhaps evn a history making say, in very important issues.
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