Finally, a good prosecutor knows that her job is to enforce the law without fear or favor. Likewise, a Supreme Court Justice must interpret the laws without fear or favor.
I'm a former prosecutor. And for me, the integrity of the justice system is all about the fact that these men and women go to work every day to be there for our country.
As a prosecutor and a senator, one of my main criminal justice priorities has been enforcing and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, a bill with deep roots in Minnesota, seeds planted by former Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila.
I remember when I was prosecutor we had truancy and curfew issues and we made a refrigerator magnet, and that was hot with parents. They loved putting it up on the wall and saying, you know, if you don't follow these rules, you could get prosecuted.
I believe having judges with real world, frontline experience as a prosecutor is a good thing.
I was one of the first women partners at my law firm, the first woman in my Minnesota prosecutor job, and the first woman elected from my state to the Senate. So advice from women who had done similar things was important for me.
I have no respect for the prosecutors, the judges. And I say that not with malice in my heart. I say it because they took 30 years from me.
Local prosecutors must use the power and discretion afforded them to carry out sweeping reforms that will protect the public - especially Black communities - from police violence. Our system's integrity depends on it.
We should start with the basics: Police officers are unlikely to be held accountable if the prosecutors investigating and potentially prosecuting them feel indebted to them.
If police departments won't remove officers who lack integrity, prosecutors should ensure that no one is prosecuted based on those officers' unreliable accounts.
