The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's office has a baffling policy of allowing crime victims and their families, rather than the attorneys, decide the course of criminal cases. Highly trained, intelligent prosecutors, all with advanced degrees, and most with years of experience and dozens of jury trials behind them, are hamstrung by a policy that strips them of discretion and places it in the hands of people who not only lack any skill in the area, but are motivated exclusively by their emotions.
That is not to say that the feelings and wishes of crime victims aren't important. But if we are to have meaningful justice, our system cannot be at the mercy of someone who is more likely motivated by revenge than justice. Prosecutors should be disinterested. Unbiased. They should seek only justice. A good prosecutor ensures that those who commit crimes are treated fairly, that defendants' rights are upheld, and that the innocent are exhonerated. Justice, not winning, is the only goal.
For generations, elected prosecutors in Jackson County trusted their assistant lawyers to make good decisions. They balanced sympathy for victims against evidentiary problems, difficult legal issues, and real risks of convicting the wrong person. The legal system is complex, and figuring out a case isn't easy. Mental health issues, search and seizure problems, false confessions, and punishment are difficult issues we wrestle with every day. A skilled attorney, not an untrained amateur, should decide how a case is handled. Letting a rookie make legal decisions is like letting a cancer patient perform her own surgery. The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office disagrees. And we have less justice as a result.
Rick Johnson
Johnson & Johnson, LLC
Kansas City, Missouri
http://www.johnson-johnsonllc.com/
About Me
- Rick Johnson
- Rick Johnson graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2000. He began his career at Armstrong Teasdale, but soon left to join the Kansas City Trial Office of the Missouri State Public Defender System. Showing a high degree of skill as a trial attorney, Rick quickly advanced into more serious cases. Handling cases with forensic science as a central focus, Rick possesses significant knowledge and skill in such areas as blood-spatter interpretation, ballistics, firearms, sexual assault investigations, and DNA analysis. He has appeared in courts across Missouri, and has represented thousands of clients on all types of matters, including personal injury, traffic, and criminal cases. He has tried dozens of cases to juries both as first and second chair, and he has received not guilty verdicts on matters including domestic violence, sexual assault, armed robbery, drug possession, and DWI.
