By Joe Luppino-Esposito | Due Process Institute | Director, Rule of Law Initiatives
Tallying a win/loss record should be the last thing on a prosecutor’s mind according to Rep. Trey Gowdy. Gowdy, who will be leaving at the end of his term for an unspecified courtroom job in “the justice system,” was a former prosecutor and truly understands the job.
Gowdy made his remarks at a panel for Prison Fellowship’s Second Chance Month. An audience question was directed at the South Carolina representative regarding what ought to be done to overzealous, over-aggressive prosecutors who abuse their power. Here’s a taste of what he had to say.
(Click HERE to play video)
It’s my job to signal to [my elected district attorney] that I’m going to judge you based on how you work for a blindfolded woman holding a set of scales. I am not going to judge you based on your conviction rate. I am not going to judge you based on how many people you put on death row. I’m going to judge you based on how you administer justice.
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I want a justice system that is not only respected but worthy of respect. And that includes prosecutors that understand their job is not to simply get a conviction.
Rep Gowdy’s words do truly speak for themselves, but they do deserve some extra attention at a time when there’s a false narrative that being “tough on crime” or “pro law enforcement” is the polar opposite of “due process” and “civil rights.” There is no reason that these should be mutually exclusive.
The prosecutor, representative of the people, should be most concerned with the truth.
In the Law and Order version of the criminal justice system, viewers should remember the moments where the prosecutor is demanding more from the police when it comes to respecting the rights of suspects and gathering hard evidence of a crime before charges can be filed. Those moments are perhaps not as common or as prominent as they ought to be, but for a Hollywood-ized take on justice, it makes a point.
And that is the same point that Rep. Gowdy makes here. There are plenty of cases that are open and shut, and the demands of justice are clear. Other cases may be tougher, both in fact and in law, and that requires work from a prosecutor to prove guilt—if the prosecutor believes the accused is guilty.
In the same way that a defense attorney is a zealous advocate for his client, a prosecutor must be a zealous advocate for truth, not for convictions.