August 6, 2001
To the Editor:
Upon return from the National District Attorneys Association Annual
Conference in Boston last week I learned of an op-ed piece which had
appeared in the Courier on the front page, above the fold as news.
Since the paper was already off the newstands I didn't have a
chance to read it and I am glad for that, since reports are that it is
reckless and unprofessional journalism.
To critique an unread article can be no worse than to publish an
unfounded opinion article as though it were news.
Judging from what has been told to me the piece attacks the police
for making DUI arrests upon probable cause even though evidence may be
insufficient ultimately to sustain a conviction; the judges are attacked for
dismissing DUI cases when the evidence is insufficient to convict; and
apparently it is unclear what the supposed sins of the DA's office are since
no substantiated facts are presented.
Police, judges and prosecutors are bound by rules of due process,
rules of relevant and admissible evidence, and rules of professional ethics
but journalists and vigilantes can come from a background of no training and
no enforceable professional ethics.
I will read the infamous "article" someday but meanwhile let me
just say that the police do their job "to protect and to serve" when they
get a suspect off the street by arrest and judges do their job when they
apply the rules of due process in rendering judgments upon the proof even if
it is to dismiss.
With regard to prosecutors' discretion in seeking disposition of
cases (appropriate punishment or dismissal), Oliver Wendell Holmes on
jurisprudence says that a lawyer's job is to predict what a court will do
with the law and the admissible evidence, then proceed to dispostion
accordingly. We apply these principles with a view towards equal protection
under the law, and the defense bar holds our feet to the fire in their role
as part of the justice process.
All of us are doing our jobs well in Anderson County--vigilantes,
"journalists" and other demagogues to the contrary notwithstanding.
I challenge the Clinton Courier-News to feature this response
intact and with the same prominence as last week's offending article.
Jim Ramsey
District Attorney General
