QUESTION: CATHY DANIELS OF THE OAK RIDGER NEWSPAPER MAKES SCATHING EDITORIAL CRITICISM OF YOUR "FAILURE TO COLLABORATE", CITING "THE EIGHTH" AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW "GOOD LEADERSHIP" GETS IT DONE RIGHT. DO YOU DISAGREE WITH CATHY DANIELS' ANALYSIS?

ANSWER: Upon inquiry by this office, the victim's advocate quoted (Sher Byrd of Campbell County's Domestic Violence program, with whom we collaborate on a regular basis) expressed surprise that her interview with Cathy Daniels "...was used that way."

Ms. Daniels made no effort to interview anyone in this office, preferring to cite an anonymous source "...close to the judicial system..." --likely a disgruntled former employee.

I am confident that I exercised appropriate and timely "leadership" in undertaking the efforts described above to preserve the integrity and independence of the prosecutorial function. Equal Protection Under the Law and Due Process of Law remain fundamental principles governing our conduct of our domestic violence programs, as with all criminal justice efforts.

The recently available federal grant money devoted to domestic violence is intended to increase the amount and the focus of resources for prevention and prosecution, but in no way has eight hundred years of Anglo-American jurisprudence been changed with regard to due process concepts. As its leader, I will not allow the prosecutorial function to be usurped by unqualified fanatics nor the DA's office to be hijacked by zealots with special agendas, whether it be by Ms. Daniels "source close to the judicial system" (by definition someone unethical and insubordinate), or by any unruly mob. We collaborate effectively with all responsible agencies addressing the issues of domestic violence, including our local police forces and those agencies touching our clients in surrounding counties.

Jackie Jackson is the Interim Director of the YWCA and a very capable director and a reasonable person. She and I had several private meetings in November at her office where all our concerns were aired and we achieved agreement; but apparently Ms. Jackson has little influence over the management of the VAWA STOP Domestic Violence grant programs sponsored by the YWCA, and even though the ALLIANCE is by its charter located and administered at the YWCA, no one seems to be responsible for it. There is your lack of "leadership" in the Anderson County domestic violence advocacy community.

Appropriate and timely leadership was necessary last summer when my analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of our domestic violence program since 1997 showed that it was advisable to eliminate the special prosecutor as wasteful, redundant and ineffectual both in concept and practice in view of Anderson County circumstances; so we changed the Director's job description--with approval of the State's Bureau of Criminal Justice Programs (the agency which administers the VAWA STOP grants)--to Criminal Investigator. The reorganized (or "reinvented") program is now run by Becky Rodd, a very capable professional woman with a family, who is college educated in social work and has years of experience in juvenile court work and education administration as well as training in probation and criminal investigations. The new domestic violence program under Ms. Rodd is working out quite satisfactorily and vindicating my leadership in deciding upon and acting upon the necessary changes promptly and forcefully. I am satisfied.

Jim Ramsey, District Attorney General