No Higher Calling, No Greater Responsibility by John W. Suthers

Author:John W. Suthers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing
Published: 2016-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

VI. The Federal Prosecutor

Today, virtually every matter that could be said to touch interstate commerce in even the remotest sense is vulnerable to federal jurisdiction and the federal criminal law.

After my service as an elected district attorney, I was convinced I would never again hold a public service job as interesting and as meaningful. That changed on July 30,

2001, the day I was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado. I assumed the office on an interim basis on August 31, 2001, and was confirmed by the Senate forty-five days later. I served as U.S. attorney until January 1, 2005. In many respects, I found service as a federal prosecutor every bit as interesting and challenging as being a district attorney. In some ways, the jobs were very similar; in some ways, they were quite different.

The Constitution says nothing about who will exercise the prosecutorial power of the United States. So it was up to the first Congress to do so, and they did in the Judiciary Act of 1789. They created the position of U.S. attorney general, who would be the chief lawyer for the federal government. But given their penchant for decentralized power, they also provided that the president would appoint with the consent of the Senate “a person learned in the law” in each federal district to serve as U.S. attorney and represent the United States in all criminal and civil matters occurring within the district. George Washington appointed the first thirteen U.S. attorneys in 1789. Among them was a future chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall, who was appointed the first U.S. attorney for Virginia. Over time Congress has created ninety-three federal judicial districts in the states and federal territories. Many states now have multiple federal districts. The entire state of Colorado is a single federal district.

Many former federal prosecutors have spoken eloquently about what it means to represent the United States as a client. I recall reading an article in which Nicholas Katzenbach discussed his emotions as he stood before a racist southern judge during the height of civil rights unrest in the South in the 1960s. When the judge angrily demanded of him, “Just who is it that you speak for?” Katzenbach calmly replied, “Your Honor, I’m here to speak on behalf of the United States of America.” Many of the applicants I interviewed for assistant U.S. attorney positions were leaving big law firm jobs paying much more money. When I questioned their motive, many of them explained that the opportunity to represent the United States was a long-term dream and the pinnacle of public service for lawyers.

Most of the former U.S. attorneys I’ve met indicate it was the best job they ever had, including a few that went on to high elective office. While I’ll have to wait until the end of my career to attempt to choose, with the benefit of hindsight, the best job I had, there’s no question the U.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.