Sixth Edition Marquis Who’s Who INSIGHT 15 INSIGHT MARQUIS WHO′S WHO SIXTH EDITION SUMMER 2024 Award from the California Commission on POST in 2022, he was named the CNOA Region One Prosecutor of the Year by the California Narcotic Officers' Association in 2016. How have you navigated disruptions in your industry to remain a top professional? By staying informed and reading various legal and non- legal publications that address the relevant aspects of my criminal prosecution practice. I also attend virtual and live training sessions. What are two key behaviors/personality traits that allow you to be effective in your role? Tenacity and innovation. I refuse to accept the adage that it can't be done now since it has never been done before. For example, while assigned to the narcotics unit as the assistant supervisor, I created the first computer-based search warrant program in my office. This program cut the time for a prosecutor to create a search warrant and affidavit in half and still be legally valid. In fact, I generated 56 search warrants in 18 working days and wrote 356 search warrants in one year. What is the most important issue/challenge you are dealing with in your industry? The fallacious belief by some that the justice system is systemically racist. I have not spent almost 40 years in law as a prosecutor to discriminate against individuals or groups of a specific ethnic or racial class. Justice should generally always be blind to those considerations. Ethnicity and race have not entered my decision to file charges against someone, except in the context of hate crimes where those issues are relevant in assessing whether someone chose a victim based on their race, ethnicity or other factors unique to the victim. How do you feel your industry has changed/evolved? The false belief by some that the justice system is systemically racist; the overreaction in response to that belief has impacted the practice of criminal prosecutions. That belief has also led to a decrease in the accountability of those who commit crimes. Examples can be seen in the increase in retail thefts nationwide, the absence of bail laws in New York and other jurisdictions, and the elimination of recidivist penalties in California. What innovations or technologies do you feel will shape the future of your industry? The automation of legal research. When I started, there were large libraries of books containing legal opinions. Now, that information is easily accessed over the internet via legal databases. One no longer must be in a law library building to access the information but can now access that information via the Internet over a laptop while sitting in a coffee shop. The material is still highly relevant and accessible but easier to find based on the search terms and available law-based software programs. What excites you the most about your industry? The new, and perhaps somewhat idealistic, law students starting their careers soon. The potential for fresh and innovative approaches they can bring to the cases they’ll handle is exciting. This could be especially true in computer automation and artificial intelligence.
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