Should police officers prosecute their own misdemeanor cases?
Personally, I do not think that they should, and I agree with the quote below.
In New Mexico, police unions have filed a lawsuit against District Attorney Janetta Hicks, who announced that her office would no longer prosecute misdemeanors except for DUI's and domestic violence cases.
"The officers are not lawyers," said prosecuting attorney Tom Martin. "They are not licensed to practice law. They do not have adequate training to be prosecuting attorneys."While officers have received some legal training, they argue the cases take too many police off the street, which causes the safety of citizens to suffer.
"The district attorney has the absolute duty to represent the state of New Mexico as the prosecuting attorney," Martin said.
Martin said the policy has created a hardship and caused confusion for officers in the courtroom.
This is how it has always been in South Carolina courtrooms, and only recently have counties begun to provide prosecutors for driving under the influence and domestic violence cases (but not defense attorneys). Officers in the magistrate courts still prosecute all other types of cases. (In Horry County, the solicitor's office also handles driving under suspension and simple assault and battery cases).
From a policy perspective, it does not make sense to take officers off of the street and force them to act like a lawyer for a police officer's pay. From a defense perspective, there are times when my job is easier because there is no lawyer on the other side, but there are also times when my job is more difficult because an officer does not (and probably should not) understand the nuances of some legal defenses or courtroom procedure.
What is the answer? Fund the justice system - put a prosecutor in every courtroom and stop denying the right to counsel to indigent defendants in misdemeanor cases. Let cops be cops.
