Prosecution means working on a daily basis to punish criminal defendants. And many prosecution offices have broad discretion over when and how to prosecute, which is an important part of our criminal justice system referred to as prosecutorial discretion.
As any criminal defense lawyer can tell you, prosecutorial discretion is an important tool and the best prosecutors are the ones who use that tool wisely.
Recently in Nevada, a top drug prosecutor was convicted himself of possession of crack cocaine.
According to the Associate Press,
Once the top drug prosecutor in Clark County, Nev., a former deputy district attorney has been sentenced to serve nine months in a felony cocaine-possession case after allegedly buying a $40 rock of crack cocaine in a neighborhood near the Las Vegas Strip last year.
David Schubert apologized and was scolded by the judge, who called him a “disgrace” and said an earlier plea deal that would have given Schubert probation and a chance to expunge his record “offensive.”
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Not only had this prosecutor earned his living punishing people for the very crime of which he was also guilty, but he also was apparently using mind altering substances that would likely cloud his judgement needed to experience proper prosecutorial discretion.
Let him without sin cast the first stone. If a person is themselves engaging in illegal behavior, they cannot possibly serve justice and be fair to criminal defendants.