Absence of Light: Prosecutorial debt is undermining fair trials
Our writer argues that unseen “prosecutorial debts” compromise judicial fairness. He believes when former prosecutors dominate judicial positions, due process is weakened and systemic bias persists. Hannah Mesa | Illustration Editor
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Prosecutorial Debts = Injustices
What is a prosecutorial debt? Do you know that it actually exists?
This is something you won’t find in a law book or dictionary. It’s hidden deep within our legal system. You wouldn’t know about it until I informed you. This is information that’s never taught in law schools. This is what society never hears about in their homes.
Ask any number of judges who sit on benches across the United States. Or ask public defenders or private criminal attorneys. Many judges were first appointed by a district attorney’s office on the state side, or by the United States Attorney’s Office on the federal side. What does that exactly mean? They were former district attorneys and prosecutors.
So how can a criminal defendant receive a fair trial and due process — as the United States Constitution guarantees its citizens — when these positions are filled by former adversaries? They won’t. Every plausible theory works well on paper, but the people applying those theories realistically are often the reason they fail in practice.
So how can a criminal defendant receive a fair trial and due process — as the United States Constitution guarantees its citizens — when these positions are filled by former adversaries?Issac Elmore, Writer
The judges and attorneys who owe a prosecutorial debt owe it because illegal actions occurred in their former positions. These illegal situations can’t be exposed due to the court system and politicians wanting to maintain the perception that they are above reproach. If these debts were exposed, consider how the public’s view of the legal system would look to our society and the world. This is why when corruption is exposed in the system, it’s often contained to only a few and never the many. If everything were exposed, the house would fold like if you beat the house in Vegas.
Have you ever wondered why a true defense lawyer who has never worked as an assistant district attorney is rarely appointed or elected as a judge?
Issac Elmore is currently incarcerated at Coxsackie Correctional Facility.
