0 users logged on

Tips: BlueJerseyDotCom (AIM) |

The politics of a county prosecutor

by: Matthew Jordan

Thu Jan 27, 2011 at 08:03:40 AM EST

promoted by Rosi

In New Jersey there is a lack of accountability for officials occupying high level positions in every layer of our government. There is no popular vote for our Attorney General or State Auditor. Our county prosecutors, State Treasurer, and Supreme Court justices are all appointed positions. Their decisions and policies aren't influenced by the will of the popular electorate; they are shaped by the wills of one person: the Governor. We are promoting a system where high level officials aren't shaping policy in the best interest of their constituents. Instead, they are tailoring their actions to best assure re-appointment within the ideological spectrum of the administration.

Instead of the public weighing in on the credentials, experience, and education of an official through a popular vote, deals are cut in the back room to pay back loyal members of your party or a generous donor. Now this is not to say we are faced with prosecutors in New Jersey who don't deserve their office; I'm saying they need to be accountable first and foremost to the people of their counties, not the Governor's office.

On the county level we elect a clerk, a surrogate, freeholders, executives (in some places), and sheriffs. Like the Attorney General on the statewide level, we do not elect county prosecutors. This never made any sense to me. How can we elect people to issue passports and deeds, but not a person to implement criminal policy? In my opinion a clerk or surrogate are largely non-partisan positions, whereas a prosecutor from the two parties can espouse very different views on how to attack poverty, crime, and social justice. The people should be given a voice to pick who that person is in their county. New Jersey needs more accountability, not centralized power in the executive branch.

Matthew Jordan :: The politics of a county prosecutor

Tags: Chris Christie, prosecutor, County Prosecutor, election, Governor, Accountability, (All Tags)

Print Friendly View

Send As Email

The politics of a county prosecutor | 10 comments

Interesting Ideas..... (0.00 / 0)

But the "people do have a voice" through their elected representatives in the Senate. Each of these nominees go through exhaustive background checks, questioning in public at the Judiciary Committee level and a vote before the full Senate - a mirror of what is done for like appointments at the federal level.
My next question would be how would you like to "elect" a County Prosecutor or Judge who gets the "line" from the Party leaders (bosses?), might owe allegiance to the same and then raises money (from whom?) to pay for the cost of his/her election? Our system, as imperfect as it might be, seems preferable .

by: Senator Loretta Weinberg @ Thu Jan 27, 2011 at 20:09:09 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Thanks for the input Senator. (0.00 / 0)

First off, I don't think Judges should be elected at any level.

Regarding your point about the party bosses, it's valid, but that speaks more about how we finance elections than to whether we should elect our county prosecutor. By that logic, we shouldn't elect anyone in our county governments.

If I had to choose between one Senator (exercising senatorial courtesy) and the Judiciary Committee, or the hundreds of people voting in a convention in the Passaic County Democratic Committee or any other county committee in New Jersey, I choose the county committee.

I just think it's more democratic.

by: Matthew Jordan @ Thu Jan 27, 2011 at 20:25:56 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

I respect your input (0.00 / 0)

But in terms of the county committee conventions...you've never been to a Bergen County convention - those of the past and hopefully changed! A trial of a person accused of forging county committee resignations in the 2005 convention where I was selected as a State Senator is about to begin in Hackensack on Feb. 7th. (What was that about justice delayed?) Anyway, I have to think about the County Prosecutor idea. But the idea of raising money to conduct a campaign is still very problematic when it comes to law enforcement. Don't forget most of what they do is without public oversight - till the indictment and trial level. Most of what we public officials do is really in the public.

by: Senator Loretta Weinberg @ Thu Jan 27, 2011 at 22:52:00 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

I can only speak to my experience.... (0.00 / 0)

the one county committee convention I participated in went very well (see my blog post here). I think the Party Democracy Act has made a huge difference. That being said, the worry of money in politics is always an issue. Maybe we need to explore public financing for our local and county races - I know Ocean City residents have already tried.

by: Matthew Jordan @ Fri Jan 28, 2011 at 02:05:36 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Not sold (0.00 / 0)

I'm not quite sold on the idea. I understand where you are coming from, but I think we should be hesitant about putting the voters in charge of selecting our law enforcement. No one has ever lost an election for being too hard on crime. An election could lead prosecutors to crack down hard when it's not the best policy and get rid of programs that work, but might not be politically viable. Take for instance Drug Courts. They save money and show lower recidivism rates than traditional programs. But in an election all anyone will hear is "Prosecuter A put convicted drug users back on the street."

Plus, I honestly don't think people care about who their County Prosecutor is. Most people don't have to deal them that often. I'm guessing folks would end up just voting their party.

by: mattkabak @ Fri Jan 28, 2011 at 05:43:48 AM UTC

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Why do we elect our Sheriff then? (0.00 / 0)

If anything it is even worse. They have an army of officers at their disposal to intimidate and dictate.

by: Matthew Jordan @ Fri Jan 28, 2011 at 14:31:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Not sure (0.00 / 0)

I don't really know. I should note, though, that in NJ the Sheriff doesn't have nearly as many law enforcement responsibilites as in other states. Take Florida for instance. Because they have so much unincorporated county land, Sheriff's departments have a lot more power. But here in NJ, most law enforcement at the street level is done by municipalites. On the website for the Union County Sheriff, they list their responsibilites as "courthouse security and transportation of prisoners, service of criminal and domestic warrants and extraditions" among other things like "maintenance of records" and "assisting local law enforcement agencies in the identification of suspects in criminal investigations." To my knowledge, Sheriff's officers don't have a lot of authority to arrest, whereas local cops do.

by: mattkabak @ Fri Jan 28, 2011 at 16:56:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Sheriff's Departments are very powerful. (0.00 / 0)

Sheriff's officers have the full power to arrest, investigate, and set criminal policy in their county. Additionally, their resources usually far outweigh lose of local police forces. In Passaic County the Sheriff's budget is almost $64 million.

by: Matthew Jordan @ Fri Jan 28, 2011 at 18:59:07 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

In addition to the Union County Sheriff's Responsibilities as Above (0.00 / 0)

Sheriffs also run county jail system. Hence the size of their employee force represents correction officials (jail guards) as well as courtroom security. They generally have much less emphasis on the law enforcement aspect of local police depts.

by: Senator Loretta Weinberg @ Sat Jan 29, 2011 at 03:39:17 AM UTC

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

If you get the chance, (0.00 / 0)

you may want to peruse my diary entry in regards to the past failures in New Jersey's Prosecutorial Appointment System.

by: Mattmiller @ Wed May 18, 2011 at 04:28:00 AM UTC

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

The politics of a county prosecutor | 10 comments