There used to be the War on Crime, the War on Drugs, the War on Terror. Now there’s the War on Prosecutors.
The American prosecutor is unique in criminal law. No other government official has the power to charge a person with a crime, curtail that person’s liberty, undo his reputation, and even terminate his life. The public typically sees the prosecutor as a “Champion of Justice,” a scourge of criminals, and a vindicator of the rule of law. The prosecutor is presumed to act in good faith and the prosecutor’s exercise of discretion has been largely immune from accountability for his or her official actions.
