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Campaign Phone
8022332545
Candidate For Office
Grand Isle County State's Attorney
From age 12 through high school, I spent time on the wrong side of the law. I know what it feels like to be an outsider and how hard it is to come back once you’ve been branded as a bad person. In college, I interned at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. After years of working across the country, I started law school, worked with prosecutors and public defenders, for legal aid, and side jobs to keep the lights on. Since then I have defended criminal cases, litigated civil rights cases, represented injured people, and taken on government and other powerful institutions. I evaluate cases without yielding to politics or outside pressure.
Review the oldest cases; determine which can be resolved without trial, and take an honest look at cases with weaknesses or limited benefit. Cases that need trial should be prepared without fanfare, delay, or excessive public comment that might compromise the defendant’s right to an unbiased jury pool. When appropriate, alternatives to prosecution should be considered early, not after months of litigation. Cases that require prosecution should move forward. Those that do not should not remain open simply because they were filed. I would examine office practices that create unnecessary delay. Nothing should ever be done just because it has always been done that way.
Although the paycheck comes from Montpelier, the State’s Attorney works for the people of Grand Isle County. Prosecutorial conduct should not be a black box. Islanders should know how their State’s Attorney’s office makes charging decisions. I would publish general guidelines for charging, diversion, plea, dismissal, and sentencing decisions, while allowing for the individual circumstances of each case. I would also publish data showing how many cases are filed, dismissed, resolved through diversion or other alternatives, and their general outcomes. I would also track how much taxpayer money and other public resources are spent or saved as a result of prosecutorial decisions.
