OPINION & EDITORIAL
Experience vital for effective AG
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Also by Joelle Parks:
- Affirmative action has no place at collegiate level (April 13, 2006)
- Local media expedite petty politics (November 29, 2006)
- Campus safety needs high priority (November 21, 2005)
- Obese must admit own fault (April 20, 2006)
- Board of Regents' new disciplinary policy overdue, welcome (December 13, 2006)
Related Stories:
- Falk for AG (October 31, 2006)
- Falk neglecting issues in attack ads (October 25, 2006)
- Falk It! (September 12, 2006)
- DA race dilemma for area Democrats (November 8, 2005)
- AG race turns dirty yet comical (September 7, 2006)
by Joelle Parks
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
An attorney general without court experience is like a calculus professor trying to teach American history. Sure, she may do OK, but who wants to suffer as she learns the ropes? By electing Kathleen Falk for attorney general, that's exactly what Wisconsin will have to do — survive as she learns how to conduct her first criminal prosecutions.
The final month before an election is the time to prove the opposition wrong and show that each candidate can surpass his or her supposed weaknesses. At first, Kathleen Falk's impressive résumé as assistant attorney general and public intervener before Dane County Executive may have shadowed the fact she has never actually prosecuted a case. But as shadows disappear in the light, so have Falk's previous qualifications with the latest controversy under her watch.
More than a month ago, Falk's zoning administrator, Peter Conrad, was found by a female co-worker to have photographs of male genitalia on a county-owned memory card for a digital camera that he used.
When first hearing about the accusation, several questions come to mind including: Whose genitalia are in the pictures? Who saw the pictures? Why were the pictures on a taxpayer-owned camera? Was law enforcement notified? When did Kathleen Falk find out about the pictures and what was her immediate action?
Falk's response, according to the Wisconsin State Journal and Travis Myren, the county's head of employee relations, was an investigation that began Aug. 28. During this time, Conrad took a two-week vacation and has since been working from home until the "alleged work rule violation" issue has been resolved.
It may come as no surprise that Falk's lack of prosecution in court also reflects her lack of prosecution in her own office. Falk's deficiency in taking necessary action with Conrad diminished all previous qualifications for attorney general. How can someone who has spent her life dealing with environmental issues be expected to arraign criminals? Do the people of Wisconsin want to gamble on what happens when an attorney general fails to properly and adamantly conduct a court case?
J.B. Van Hollen, Falk's opponent in the November election for attorney general, quickly responded, "What kind of administrator allows this to happen and instead of firing the employee, lets them 'work from home' for two months." Van Hollen continued, "It's a violation of public trust and safety."
People in Wisconsin who do not feel offended must also not care about their money, that was used to take pornographic pictures and pay for Conrad's time working at home.
In the race for attorney general, a lack of criminal prosecutions is a huge disadvantage. In this last month before the election, citizens must sift through each candidate and ask themselves one question: Do I want the first case Wisconsin's attorney general prosecutes to be that person's first case ever? Van Hollen's experience prosecuting criminals as the assistant state public defender, a federal prosecutor as an assistant United States attorney for the western district of Wisconsin and as a district attorney for two counties has him ready for his next political role — attorney general.
As the investigation of Peter Conrad's "alleged work rule violation" wraps up, this issue is not a reason to vote against Kathleen Falk, as she cannot be expected to control the activities of all of her associates. But her reaction to the situation should be kept in mind. Voters can only speculate about her court skills and wonder, "If this is how she reacts in her own office, how will she react in court?"
Both candidates have their own issues, but J.B. Van Hollen has extraordinary bi-partisan support in the race for attorney general because he not only surpasses necessary qualifications, but is simply the best candidate. This is more than a choice between Democrat and Republican, voters must consider who will do what is best for Wisconsin.
Joelle Parks (jparks@badgerherald.com) is a junior majoring in journalism and Spanish.
Anonymous (October 4, 2006 @ 9:14am):
While Joelle Parks fairly points out Falk's inexperience prosecuting cases may be a concern, she misses three very important points. First, prosecuting cases is not the sole role of the DOJ. The following description comes from the DOJ's website:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) provides legal advice and representation, criminal investigations, and various law enforcement services for the state. It represents the state in civil cases and handles criminal cases that reach the Wisconsin Court of Appeals or the Wisconsin Supreme Court. It also represents the state in criminal cases on appeal in federal courts and participates with other states in federal cases that are important to Wisconsin. The department provides legal representation in lower courts when expressly authorized by law or requested by the governor, either house of the legislature, or a state agency head. It is also represents state agencies in court reviews of their administrative decisions. The Department consists of four divisions and one office. The Division of Criminal Investigation, Division of Law Enforcement Services, Division of Legal Services, Division of Management Services and the Office of Crime Victim Services.
In fact, the Division of Legal services regularly takes up environmental issues important to the state. Here, Falk's having "spent her whole life dealing with environmental issues" will certainly come in handy.
Second, the apparent "scandal" in her office, which she promply investigated, demonstrates more than anything Falk's interest in providing the accused with due process and treating people accused of impropriety as they ought to be treated: innocent until proven guilty. The notion that a prosecutor must be tough on criminals often leads people to think a good prosecutor should cut procedural corners or seek heavy-handed sentences. This is easy for someone to say until they have been falsely accused for a crime. A prosecutor serves the state, who should be interested in fair punishment of the guilty, not "making someone pay."
Anonymous (October 4, 2006 @ 12:30pm):
Dear Joelle-
Please do not waste everyone's time by writing editorials on topics you are completely ignorant. Criminal prosecution related activities are just a fraction of the picture. You display absolutely no understanding of the structure of the AG's office and its responsibilites for meeting the state's legal needs (where's civil litigation in your discussion?). If I wanted to read soundbites from Van Hollen, I could have just looked at his website. Seriously, was this the best work you could put on paper?
Anonymous (October 4, 2006 @ 1:05pm):
I think you meant "...a history professor trying to teach calculus." There really isn't any such thing as a "calculus" professor -- that field hasn't really been active for, well, 100+ years. (Try "analysis".) That, and I'm a lowly math student, and I could teach American history effectively...
Anonymous (October 4, 2006 @ 2:57pm):
So you'd have us vote for the candidate who is either so stupid or so high on drugs that he thinks terrorists are training in camps all over Wisconsin?
