×

Rule of Law rules

To the Journal editor:

“The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty and property than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous.”

These are the words of Attorney Gen. Robert H. Jackson when he addressed the conference of United States Attorneys in 1940.

Jackson was a state prosecutor and later became a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Following World War II, he served as the chief United States prosecutor in the Nuremberg War Crime Trials.

Attorney General Jackson went on to say “while the prosecutor, at his best, is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives he is one of the worst.”

As Marquette County’s prosecuting attorney for 38 years I tried to always be mindful of Jackson’s words. As a former prosecutor, I view recent events with alarm. We are currently undergoing an assault upon our national law enforcement and the Department of Justice that is unprecedented. The very fabric of our democracy is being threatened. Every citizen should be concerned.

President Trump, aided and abetted by Attorney General Barr, are endangering The Rule of Law which is the glue that holds our society together. The law does not exist to shield the president’s friends or punish his enemies.

Near the end of his address, Attorney General Jackson went on to say: “The qualities of a good Prosecutor are as elusive and as impossible to define as those of a gentleman. And those who need to be told would not understand it anyway.”

Attorney General Barr and President Trump need to be told, even if they do not understand, that their role should be to seek truth, justice and the Rule of Law by the citizens of this country loudly and clearly.

GARY L. WALKER

Former prosecutor

Marquette County

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today