As District Attorney, I will employ good, honest judgement. Each case is different and requires individual attention. A good district attorney needs to look at the facts. How did the facts become known? How was the evidence collected? Was it done correctly and according to the law? Will it in the end be admissable in court? Are the witnesses still around? Are they credible people if they are? How does the community feel about the particular crime in question? What would be a likely jury verdict if it were to go to trial? What you can get from a jury is a guiding factor when evaluating a case.
Lawyers have to make hard and sometimes painful decisions. How do you call a case? How do you advise your client? What is the good news and what is the bad news? How many lives will your decision affect? Have you done your homework? Have you looked at the law? Have you talked to all the witnesses? Have you checked into the background of the witnesses? Have you examined the physical evidence? Have you filed the proper motions? Have you consulted people who have knowledge that may help you understand your case better? Are you willing to advance your case even in the face of adversity? Are you willing to make the personal sacrifices that you may need to make to do the right thing on a case? Are you using a fair and even hand? Are you weilding your power in a just way that will benefit the community, safeguard it and its rights, advance the law and advance the public's trust in the law and its government?
Sometimes, a prosecutor has to make a call on a case that at first glance seems wrong because it is too lenient or too harsh. The devil is in the details and the details are generally not known to the public at large. Because I will apply the law fairly and blindly and not corrupt the decision making process with partiality and favoritism, the public will regain confidence in its DA's office. The Public will not ask themselves who got away with murder and why when they read about decisions. This week, on May 2, 2007, just such questions came to mind after reading an article entitled "Probation Plea Angers Family of 2004 Crash Victim." In that case, we read that Shonn Albert Alfaro hit and killed Lidia Paola Robles and is being offered probation by the D.A. After so many bad deals and so many years of scandal and so many favors being passed around to special friends and employees of the D.A., the first question the people ask when they hear about such a deal is "Who is the defendant related to?"--This shows how cynical and distrustful we are of our current D.A., Jaime Esparza. Maybe Esparza's decision to offer the defendant probation was right and maybe it was not. We just don't know anymore. And we can't afford to give him the beneft of the doubt anymore. He has abused our trust for too long and he doesn't change.
When I am District Attorney and when, not if, when, I have to make a hard call on a case, I will have so strived to apply the law honestly and fairly that you, the public, will be able to have the confidence in my decision making process and my integrity to trust that I will have done the right thing by the case and the community I owe. You will be able to say, "I trust Theresa and if she thought probation or as the case may be prison, was the best outcome for the case and for us the People, then it is because it is so. She doesn't do favors for anyone." I want you to have trust in your government again. I want to have trust in my government again. I am asking you to give me the power to fix this and to use the law wisely.
Lawyers have to make hard and sometimes painful decisions. How do you call a case? How do you advise your client? What is the good news and what is the bad news? How many lives will your decision affect? Have you done your homework? Have you looked at the law? Have you talked to all the witnesses? Have you checked into the background of the witnesses? Have you examined the physical evidence? Have you filed the proper motions? Have you consulted people who have knowledge that may help you understand your case better? Are you willing to advance your case even in the face of adversity? Are you willing to make the personal sacrifices that you may need to make to do the right thing on a case? Are you using a fair and even hand? Are you weilding your power in a just way that will benefit the community, safeguard it and its rights, advance the law and advance the public's trust in the law and its government?
Sometimes, a prosecutor has to make a call on a case that at first glance seems wrong because it is too lenient or too harsh. The devil is in the details and the details are generally not known to the public at large. Because I will apply the law fairly and blindly and not corrupt the decision making process with partiality and favoritism, the public will regain confidence in its DA's office. The Public will not ask themselves who got away with murder and why when they read about decisions. This week, on May 2, 2007, just such questions came to mind after reading an article entitled "Probation Plea Angers Family of 2004 Crash Victim." In that case, we read that Shonn Albert Alfaro hit and killed Lidia Paola Robles and is being offered probation by the D.A. After so many bad deals and so many years of scandal and so many favors being passed around to special friends and employees of the D.A., the first question the people ask when they hear about such a deal is "Who is the defendant related to?"--This shows how cynical and distrustful we are of our current D.A., Jaime Esparza. Maybe Esparza's decision to offer the defendant probation was right and maybe it was not. We just don't know anymore. And we can't afford to give him the beneft of the doubt anymore. He has abused our trust for too long and he doesn't change.
When I am District Attorney and when, not if, when, I have to make a hard call on a case, I will have so strived to apply the law honestly and fairly that you, the public, will be able to have the confidence in my decision making process and my integrity to trust that I will have done the right thing by the case and the community I owe. You will be able to say, "I trust Theresa and if she thought probation or as the case may be prison, was the best outcome for the case and for us the People, then it is because it is so. She doesn't do favors for anyone." I want you to have trust in your government again. I want to have trust in my government again. I am asking you to give me the power to fix this and to use the law wisely.
on May 5, 2007, 12:54 pm
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